You're Mine
by KatPeeta23
Summary: I never knew that my coffee cup exploding on a beautiful man with blindly gorgeous blue eyes could change my entire life.
1. Chapter 1

**To everyone that has read the other version of this story, don't spoil anything for the people that hasn't. I'm quoting Atticus Finch from **_**To Kill a Mockingbird **_**when I say put yourself in everyone else's skin and walk around in it. Imagine how it would feel to have the story spoiled for you. **

**Keep that in mind. **

My phone starts to beep and I look down, sighing in relief when I see it's my alarm telling me it's six and I'm off of work. A grin spreads across my lips as I shut down my computer, tug my coat over my long sleeve t-shirt, stuff my phone in my pocket, grab my purse, lock the filing cabinet and walk down the hall to the elevator.

"Bye Katniss!" Olivia waves from her cubicle and I wave back as I press the down button with my other hand.

"Bye Olivia! Have a great day!" She just smiles. I walk onto the elevator and let is soar down to the lobby.

"Katniss!" Linda, the secretary grins. "Have a nice day!" she waves.

"You too Linda!" I smile back at her as I push my way out into the bitter winter air. It's in the negatives here in New York City and everything is slippery.

I grew up in Kentucky in a poor house with my poor parents and my little sister, so Daddy had to hunt for our food. He taught me, so I'm pretty stealthy. It's not hard to stay standing. I walk to my blood red mini cooper and get inside. I turn the heat on high and wait till it's warmed up my car to start driving.

I have to admit I miss my family. I haven't seen them since Christmas and Thanksgiving just passed. It's been almost a year. My sister is only sixteen years old, while I am twenty two, six years older.

We are polar opposites, Prim (my sister) and I. She's rude and disrespectful to _everyone_ and me…I'm quiet and I don't like any male. I can't trust them. They're all dogs. The only males I trust are the ones in my family and my best friend in the whole world, Finnick Bradley Odair. I keep to myself and I'm nice, apparently too nice, to everyone. Sure, I'm sarcastic and everything and I'm rude about it but I do things without being told, my manners are perfect, I don't wear short clothing and I am respectful to everyone. And as my cousin Johanna says, my favorite word is sorry. While Prim listens to '_screamo_' as she calls it, I listen to Taylor Swift. Oh, and Prim's language is horrendous, her grammar is horrible and almost every sentence involves profanity, but my speech is perfect and I only swear when I'm really angry.

I don't understand how one can call '_screamo_' music, when all it is a ton of loud earsplitting music with a lead 'singer' screaming.

I shake the thought from my mind and focus on my driving. I always go ton Starbucks twice a day, and on days I have off I go sometimes the whole day. The only reason I spend so much time there is because that is where Finnick works.

I can't get a parking spot because there isn't parking lots in New York City, you just sort of parallel park on the side of the road. I have to drive probably like two miles down the street and park down the hill. I get out, grab my keys and purse and lock my car. I tuck my hands in my jacket pocket as it starts to snow lightly and walk up the street.

The Starbucks here in New York City that Finn works at is high up compared to the one back home. It's a crumpling old building that doesn't sell my usual, while the one here sells every single drink they have to offer and it has a bar and a TV the size of the entire wall with plush velvet couches. The building itself is the size of our grocery store back home in Kentucky. I walk up the street the two miles and open the door.

"Kitty!" Finnick shouts across the store. He can basically be as loud as he wants. His friends Jake and Kate work here and they're just as bad as he is.

Jake is _okay _to me but I will never tell him any secrets.

I guess it's because I was raped back in high school by my ex-boyfriend, Cato Harris. The only reason Finnick is not on my watch list is because he found me there. He bathed me and dressed me and held me while I cried. He didn't leave my side one time. Even now, six years later, he doesn't like the thought of me being alone.

"Hello? Earth to Kitty!" he snaps his fingers in front of my face.

"Sorry." I frown.

"JAKE I'M GOING ON BREAK!" he shrieks. Then he makes my coffee, lets me pay after insisting I can have it free, and then he sits down and makes me sit with him. He looks bubbling with excitement.

"What?" I laugh. He starts bouncing up and down in his chair with excitement and I smile and take a sip of the hot Caramel Apple Spice coffee. It drizzles down my throat and into my stomach, and I'm so cold I can feel it.

"I met this girl named Annie Cresta and she's insanely beautiful and I want to marry her!" he says so loudly that everyone shoots him irritated looks.

"When did you meet her?" I ask.

"Five minutes ago!" he exclaims.

"Finn…" I bite my lip. "How could you know you want to marry her when you meet her?"

"Oh fuck off Kitty! Just because you don't believe in love at first sight doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I just know I love her. Her smile and her laugh and that way her eyes sparkle like you're shining a flashlight in them. She's so beautiful and she doesn't wear makeup and she has perfect manners. She said I was cute and I'm in love with her."

"Finn you just met her."

"You watch Kitty, one day you'll run into someone and you'll look into his eyes. You'll get a warm feeling and tingling. When your skin meets you'll feel like someone stabbed you with a pencil but instead of pain it's like a hand orgasm and he'll make you smile-"

"I'm never going to date anybody again, and there is no way I'm getting married."

"You won't say that when you meet him Katniss." He says. And I know he's serious because he says Katniss instead of Kitty.

"Right," I stand up. "Well, I have to go; my couch is waiting for me."

"Yeah, yeah, have fun with your vibrator." He says.

"Finn!" I laugh. "You're so crazy."

"I love you too." He kisses my cheek and pulls me into a bone crushing hug. A guy is staring at me from across the store. His eyes are brown and his hair is dark.

"Yeah, yeah, love you." I mumble. I release him and head for the door.

"Hey wait!" the guy says loudly. Finnick stares from the other side of the counter, watching. The family wants me to stop dwelling in the past. I look at him and stand by the door, ready to run. "Hey, what's your name?" he asks.

"Katniss…" I confirm.

"You're really quite beautiful." He compliments. I flush red.

"Thanks…" I mumble. Finn is clearly gesturing for me to let him in but I ignore him.

"Are you single?" he asks.

I think for a moment. "No." I lie.

"Oh." His face falls. "Well, it was nice talking to you." he walks out of the store.

"Kitty!" Finn whines.

"Bye!" I walk out of the store with my coffee in my hand and run. It's snowing harder now.

I crash right into someone, and I was running so hard that my coffee cup explodes on the person's chest and sends both of us so the frozen sidewalk. I hit my head, but it wasn't hard.

"Oh my goodness!" the guy stands up and offers a hand. I give in and take it, and it feels _incredible_ when our skin makes contact. He pulls me to my feet, and I'm shocked when he starts checking me for injuries. He looks into my eyes. "I am so sorry; I seriously didn't mean to do that!"

"I was the one that ran into our, it's okay." I frown.

Only crap. He is wearing a long sleeve white shirt and a tan jacket. His hair is ashy blond and it curls at the tips. His eyes make my body light on fire and a sensation that almost like I'm floating takes over my senses. The heat turns into a tingling feeling. My coffee must be hot. His white shirt is clinging to his stomach, which is tan, with a major six pack. His pecks are large but not like boob large like a fat man, they're large like he works out every day. And _steam_ is coming off of him. I pick up my coffee cup and toss it in the garbage. "I…I am so sorry. So, so sorry; I can't believe I did that! I'm sorry! I was running because my friend was gonna yell at me because this guy asked if I was single and I lied and said yes and I guess I wasn't paying attention…I'm sorry. I am so sorry, sorry, I feel I…I-I sorry."

"You really like to say sorry." And then he grins. I realize i

I've just opened up about lying to that guy.

This is another guy and I'm actually talking to him. "I'm sorry." I blurt. "You must be freezing…"

"Oh I'll be fine, listen-"

"You have to let me buy you a new shirt." I blurt. He frowns.

"I'll be fine." He insists.

"No, you have to let me buy you a new one." I'm insisting because I feel bad, and because I have the overwhelming urge to see him without his shirt on.

_No Katniss! This is a __boy__ and all boys are animals! What the fuck are you doing! He's going to rape you just like Cato did!_

But something in the more reasonable side of my brain tells me that I'm wrong. This man, whatever the heck his name is, will not do anything to hurt me. Something tells me that so strongly that I find myself believing it.

"Um…" he looks around.

"There's a t-shirt store up the street that way a little bit." I blurt, pointing up the road. He follows me finger.

"Um…okay. I guess…let's go then." He says. He walks alongside me, close enough that if he wanted to do something to me he could, but he doesn't. His hands remain in his pockets. "What's your name?" he asks.

"Katniss Joy Everdeen." I say.

"That's a pretty name." he smiles. "I'm Peeta…Ryan Mellark." He says. "And before you ask, yes, Peeta like the bread; my parents own a bakery." He explains. I frown.

"What is Peeta bread?" I ask. He raises his eyebrows.

"You've never had any?" he asks.

"Um…no…I'm not very skilled in the kitchen. I can't make anything without burning it."

"Oh it can't be that bad." He smiles again and grabs my hand all of the sudden to pull me across the street. The heat appears and just before it gets so incredibly amazing, his hand drops from mine.

"Oh trust me," I laugh at myself. "It is. I set the fire alarm off when I made toast this morning."

He starts laughing, and the warmth reappears. I reach for the door of the store but his hand shoots out and opens it before I can, and he holds it for me and gestures for me to enter first. "Ladies first." he smiles.

"Pick anything. I don't care if it's a million dollars. I destroyed your shirt."

He looks around and grabs almost the exact same shirt that he already has on; it's fifteen dollars. "I can pay for it Katniss Joy, really." He says.

"You know that my first name is Katniss and not Katniss Joy, right?" I ask.

"Yes, but Katniss Joy is a beautiful name. I will never wear it out because it is impossible to wear out such a flawless name for such a flawless person."

My face feels like it's on fire and I must look like a total idiot standing here bright red. "Thanks…" I mumble, looking down at my boots. I pay without a word. Peeta…Ryan, Peeta Ryan looks around.

"Is there a dressing room here?" he asks.

"No. You can just change here." The man says. "You two are a cute couple." He compliments.

"We're not um…" Peeta trails off. I shake my head.

"We're not…like that." I look down again and bite my lip.

"My apologizes." He says.

"It's okay sir." I reply.

As I said, I have a lot of respect for people older than me. He looks surprised and he smiles.

I fight the urge to look at Peeta when he takes his shirt off.

If girls could get boners I would have my front pressed up against the counter right now. I want so badly to look at him but I don't because I feel as if I am pressing into his personal space.

Heck, I only met this beautiful man ten minutes ago.

As we exit the store, I feel myself getting upset. He stands in front of me outside awkwardly for a minute. "Let me buy you a new coffee." He says.

"Oh, that won't be necessary, I go there every day-"

"Please? You bought me a new shirt. It's only fair I buy you a new coffee." He insists.

"I was almost done with it anyways." I say. He laughs and leans against the side of the store.

"Katniss Joy, that was an awful lot of coffee to be almost done with, now wasn't it?" he grins.

Gosh he is so breathtakingly amazing. I bite my lip. "Yes." I say.

"So let me buy you a new coffee." He says.

"I don't know…" I trail off.

"If you don't like being around me Katniss, I understand, but I can assure you I am a very likable person, so…" he trails off.

"Alright, alright, you can buy me a new coffee, but I have to be home in an hour!" I give in.


	2. Chapter 2

My whole 'I have to be home in an hour!' lie was turned to dust the second the clock hit the hour, Peeta realized I was late and he asked me if I wanted him to walk me to my car.

Then I told him I was lying and he said 'so Katniss Joy is a liar now, too.'

Finn has been watching us very closely for the entire time. It's been five hours of nonstop talking and laughing and just joking and I'm not even close to finished.

"So," he leans closer to me, his chin resting on his hand. "You don't like screamo, you hate bugs, you grew up in Kentucky, your twenty two and your birthday is May eighth, you can hunt, you work in a recording studio business, your best and only friend is Finnick Odair, you have a sister, nobody in your family has died and you don't know a lot of people on your Mom's side. You are French and you can speak the language fluently, your sister is out of control and she has at least three boyfriends at once, she swears all the time while your little goodie two shoes, is that right?" He smiles.

"I'm not a goody two shoes." I reply.

Finnick barks out a laugh. "Liar,"

Peeta starts laughing and so does Finnick. I sigh and sit back.

"Think what you want." I mumble.

Peeta locks eyes with me and since the three of us are the only ones in here, the place goes dead silent. His eyes flicker to my lips. If he kisses me I think I will let him. His lips are probably so smooth and soft. "You're different." He sits back.

"I hope that's a good thing." I whisper. He nods.

"It's a good different because many beautiful females are stuck up, but you...you are so beautiful, but you don't seem to be bothered by what people say to you. You're respectful and honest and...you're not mean like almost every beautiful girl is." He frowns.

I'm silent for a long time, and then I look down at my hands. "You're not an inconsiderate jerk off." I mumble.

"Why would I be an inconsiderate jerk off?" He asks. I suck in a shaky breath.

"You wouldn't understand." I whisper.

"Broken heart?" He guesses.

"Close enough." I mumble.

"Well whoever it is, he is an idiot for hurting a girl like you." He stands up. "It's getting late. I have to go." He says. "I have to see you again." It is getting late. It's nearly midnight.

"Maybe me you and Finnick can go to the movies or something." I mumble.

"Maybe." He says. "Put your number in my phone and I'll call you right now so I can make sure it's right and so you can save my number." He says.

"Okay." I grab my phone from my bag and type my phone number into his phone when he hands it to me.

He calls me and I set his contact as Peeta Ryan.

"Well...bye," He waves to Finnick and I and walks out of sight.

When Finnick is sure he is out of hearing range, he lets out a loud shout of excitement and then picks me up and spins me around.

"You love him!" He says.

"We're only friends." I whisper.

"Kitty he's the perfect guy for you and you really like him!" He says.

"Stop Finn, this is just too much. Stop it."

"Let's have a slumber party!" He licks up and basically drags me to my car.

...9...

I'm sent into a panic the next morning when I wake up and the sun is already up. "Finn, I have to work!" I shoot out of bed. We always share beds.

"There's a blizzard." Finn sighs.

"Oh." I lay back down. I live in a studio apartment. The only confined room is the bathroom.

"Kitty," Finn begins. "Don't let your past define you."

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"It means that you let your fears define you. You think that because Cato raped you, every guy is a dog."

"Well I kind of have a right to think that." I reply.

"True, but not every guy is a dog. You fell in love with Peeta the second you saw him."

"I did not." I mumble.

"Kitty you were blushing the entire way home, and all you could do was stare into his eyes. It's like that Taylor Swift song _Enchanted_. You were _enchanted_ to meet him and you were blushing the whole way home."

"But in that song it says 'please don't be in love with someone else. Please don't have somebody waiting on you.'"

"Kitty you've only just met him and he didn't say he was single. Don't go asking either, because if he's not he's going to think you're being suggestive and if he is then he is going to be uncomfortable."

"Finn I don't like him." I say. He starts laughing. He's laughing so hard he's crying as he rushes to the bathroom to pee. Then he laughs the entire time in there and is still laughing when he walks out. "It's not funny!" I exclaim.

"Kitty," he gaps. "You are such a horrendous liar. I know you love him. You love him, not like him. Get it right."

"I don't love him and I don't like him!" I insist.

"Kitty, you keep on telling yourself that." He pats my head and starts laughing again. Then he walks across my apartment and plops down on the couch and starts flipping through the channels. "You'll see, Kitty. Something tells me you will have a spectacular love story."

"No we won't. There is not going to be a relationship like that."

"Well I like Peeta and I know he loves you." He says.

"So you can go gay and date Peeta Mellark and I can stay here and live in my happy bubble."

"Kitty you're not happy." He says.

"Yes I am!"

"But you like Peeta!" He insists.

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do! You watch Kitty. I'm gonna be right."

"Keep telling yourself that, Finn."

"Oh, I will." He grins.

I'm just opening my mouth to tell him 'good' when my phone starts vibrating on my bedside table. I pick it up and press answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi Brainless," My cousin Johanna says.

"Hey," I smile.

"I heard about the blizzard. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Good, that's good." I hear a cough in the background and something tells me that I'm on speakerphone. "So who's Peeta Mellark?"

"He told you." I sigh.

"Of course he told me." She says. I'm surprised when she doesn't use profanity.

"Hang on." I blurt.

"Okay," Jo says.

"Finnick I'm going to kill you!" I shout across the apartment. He starts laughing hysterically as I drop my phone on the bed and charge him.

I have never gotten into a fight or gotten detention so he pins me to the couch easily and let's me scream at him until I'm done. "Done yet?" He smirks.

"Why did you tell them?" I whisper, fighting to get his hands off my shoulder.

"Because you love him, you do Kitty, you love him."

"No I don't!" I insist. This time, I do get his hands off my shoulders, and I scramble to my feet.

"Sure you don't. Your cousin is waiting for you." He reminds. I glare at him as I walk back to my bed and snatch my phone up.

"I'm back." I sigh.

"Good." She says. She doesn't sound too surprised I was screaming at Finnick.

"So who is he?" She asks.

"He's a guy I ran into yesterday..." I sigh. "And then we ended up talking for five hours...straight."

"Finnick says he's really nice guy."

"He is." I whisper.

"So? You like him. Do something about it."

"No. I don't like him." I reply.

"Oh come on. You're lying."

"No I'm not."

She continues to pester me about him for nearly an hour.

"Okay let's give her a break. Are you coming down for Christmas?" Johanna asks.

"Yes." I answer.

"Awesome. We haven't seen you in a while." Johanna sounds excited.

"I know." I sigh.

"So back to Peeta," Johanna then says. I groan loudly.

...9...

After two weeks locked in the apartment in a blizzard, and thirteen days without any cell reception, cable or Wi-Fi, power and no water I'm so relieved when it stops snowing. We've lasted on cans.

Now the storm is over and Finn and I are at McDonalds. "What do you want to eat?" He asks.

"Surprise me. I really have to pee. Let's go inside." I say. He pulls into a car space and I get out and walk into the store. He orders when I go to the bathroom and when I walk out, I'm on my phone going through the messages I got when I had no reception.

Almost all of them are from Peeta.

Peeta Ryan 12/2: _hey_

Peeta Ryan 12/2: _what's up?_

Peeta Ryan 12/2: _..._

Peeta Ryan 12/3: _uh hey_

Peeta Ryan 12/4: _I guess I'll just leave you alone_

Peeta Ryan 12/8: _look I know we've just met but I really think you're a good person and I want to be friends with you. If you don't want to I sunder stand but can you at least tell me so you don't leave me waiting? _

Peeta Ryan 12/16: _I'll just leave you alone...I'm sorry...for whatever I did._

The storm had started on the first of the month, I lost service the second and today is the seventeenth and the service just got turned back up.

I start to type a message when my screen goes black and makes the loading sign and then shuts off. "Finn," I speak up. He turns around. "I'll be back; I'm going to get the charger for my phone from the car." I explain.

"Oh, okay." He says. I take my keys from his pocket because I let him drive and then I walk out of the door. I unlock the car and open up the driver's door and start rummaging around in the center console, still out of the car but leaning in most of the way. I find the charger and pull it out and straighten up. I lock the car and head back inside and plop down across from Finn. I plug my phone into the outlet next to the wall and turn it back on.

He is texting and eating at the same time and I go right to the messages from Peeta and start eating and texting.

Me: _you didn't do anything wrong. I'm really sorry I didn't answer you; I didn't have any cell service after the storm. I get it if you're mad at me but I'm really sorry. _

Right away he starts typing, almost like he was staring at the screen and waiting for me to message him.

I brush off the thought. That's just stupid.

Peeta Ryan: _what are you doing today?_

Me: _grocery shopping and errands and junk. Right now I'm at McDonald's._

Peeta: _okay, what are you doing tonight? _

Me:_ idk I may be working. _

Peeta: _if you're not can you text me? _

Me: _I guess so._

"Who's that?" Finn asks. I lock my phone and flip the screen down towards the table.

"Nobody," I lie.

"Bull. That's Peeta." He smirks knowingly.

"Whatever. You're working today?" I ask.

"Yeah can you drop me off at home?" He asks.

"Yeah," I reply as he tosses the trash from our food in the garbage. "Let's go."

...9...

I went to the grocery store and then afterwards I went and out away the groceries, then I cleaned my house and everything and stopped into work and paid all my late phone bills.

Now I sit on the couch in my living room at six at night and stare at my phone.

I want to tell him I'm not working but I don't want to sound like a creeper.

I give in anyways.

Me: _hey…_

Peeta Ryan: _hey! What's up with the '…'_

Me: _idk_

Peeta Ryan: _are you working?_

Me: _no._

Peeta Ryan: _want to hang out? You can come over or something._

Am I really ready to be alone with a boy?

I know I could fight him off if he did try anything. After everything with Cato dad practically forced me to learn to fight.

I type my answer before I can rethink anything.

Me: _okay, I'll come over. _

Peeta Ryan: _awesome! Now, I would come pick you up but I can't because I don't actually have a car. Are you okay with driving?_

Me: _that's fine. _

He gives me his address and tells me I can come now for dinner and I tell him okay, grab my keys and set the GPS and then walk down to my car. I drive around for an hour, and I sigh sharply when I see a sign that says 'welcome to White Plains!'

I pick up mty phone and dial Peeta. "Yes?" he asks.

"Um…" I bite my lip. "I don't know where I am…"

"What is the last street sign you saw?" he asks.

"Welcome to White Plains." I admit. He laughs quietly and starts to direct me to his house. I pull up in front of a yellow two story house with no car in the driveway and a light green trim. It's an adorable house.

"What do you see?" he asks.

"A yellow house…" I bite my lip.

"That's me." he says.

"Thank god." I shut my car off and get out. I hang up and I'm about to knock when he opens the door and steps aside. I look around and am surprised at how neat and tidy it is. Everything is clean and there isn't any dust and it smells like cinnamon and dill. He shuts the door. "I'm surprised." I smile.

"Why?" he asks.

"Guys are normally…" I bite my lip, not wanting to be rude.

"Sloppy?" he asks.

"Yes."

"Not me. My Mom wouldn't make me clean my room. She knew that if she didn't make me clean it, I would learn to clean it by myself. I started getting annoyed with the mess so I learned to keep it clean."

"My Mom did the exact same thing. My place is always spotless and I _still_ find myself cleaning when the house isn't dirty."

"Good." He says.

"Good what?" I ask.

"Good that you're not sloppy." He says.

"Why does it matter if I'm sloppy? We don't live together." I smile. He shrugs and I notice how he starts scratching the back of his neck.

"It just does." he shrugs.

"Okay…" I frown.

"Well…dinner is already done…I put it in the fridge." He puts his hand on my back and I almost run for the door but I force myself to remain calm as he leads me to the kitchen.

We eat quietly, small talk here and there. I catch him looking at me multiple times and then I make him let me help him to clean up the kitchen. "So what are you doing for the holidays?" I ask.

"Nothing." He says.

"Do you not celebrate?" I ask.

"Oh, I celebrate, but I'll be alone. I'm kind of trying to avoid someone in my family and I honestly can't afford to go all the way back to Paris for a few days just to come home." He says.

"Oh." I don't pester on who he is trying to avoid because it's none of my business, but I have a feeling it's one of his brothers or something.

"Yeah, what about you?" he asks.

"I'm going back to Kentucky. I'll probably hunt for dinner with my dad or something."

"And your whole family will be there?" he asks.

"Well not my whole family, we have a lot of people in France that I haven't seen since I was little, but some of them, yes."

He is from France, that's where he grew up but he knows both English and French fluently. "Sounds fun." He says.

"You should come with Finnick and I." I blurt. "I mean…if my family is okay with it. You should come."

"Oh I wouldn't want to intrude…" he says.

"It's not intruding if they say yes." I point out.

"I suppose so…" he says.

"I'll call my Mom." I start the dishwasher and then pull out my phone and dial my mother.

"Hey sweetie." I can hear the smile in her voice.

"They Mama, how are you?" I ask. Peeta leads me to the living room and sits me down, sitting dsown next to me but keeping his distance.

"I'm good. How are you?" she asks.

"I'm great, thank you." I answer. "I have a question." I say.

"Okay, what is it?" she asks.

"Can I bring a friend for Christmas?" I ask.

"A friend?" she repeats, knowing I have no friends aside from Finnick. "Sure."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes, you and Prim can share a room and Finnick and your friend can have the two spares. Everyone else is staying with Aunt Annabella, Uncle Bryon, Ethan and Madison." She explains.

"Awesome. Thanks Mama." I smile.

"Who's on the phone?" Prim asks in the background.

"It's your sister." Mama says.

"Katniss doesn't have any friends." Prim says.

"Be nice Primrose." Mom snaps. She tries hard to get her to be nice but we can't. "So Katniss, you'll be over tomorrow, yes?" she asks.

"Um…tomorrow is the eighteenth, right?" I ask.

"Right." She says.

"Yeah, yeah I have off until the third."

"Okay, I'll see you, Finnick and your friend tomorrow. What time does your flight land?" she asks.

"Noon." I answer.

"Alright, I'll see you soon sweetie."

"Okay Mama, I love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." I hang up.


	3. Chapter 3

**The turning point in the story is going to happen earlier than it did last time. I don't know why but I am in love with Katniss and Peeta's relationship.**

This is torture. I am sitting on the plane between Peeta and Finnick and both of them are talking about football. I am playing flappy bird and they keep distracting me and making me run into the poles. They're going on and on and on and I sigh loudly and scrunch back further in my chair as Finnick leans over me to hear Peeta better. I hit the pole again and again and again and I feel like I could kill somebody.

I don't stop though, I keep playing.

After long hours, I hear the pilot over the intercom and the boys are still ranting about football. We land and I couldn't be happier.

When the doors are open, I ditch the boys and walk off the plane, still playing my game. I just keep walking straight and end up bumping right into someone. I look up and I meet eyes with my sisters blue ones.

She normally slaps my shoulder but instead she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back, surprised. She smells heavily of shampoo. She doesn't release me for a long time.

"Are you okay?" I whisper, releasing her. She nods. "Prim? Are you lying?"

"I'm okay." She says.

"Okay..." I trail off.

"Oh look at you! You look beautiful!" Mom looks like she could cry as she pulls me into a tight hug that seems to last forever.

"Oh just look at you, kitten." Dad hugs me next.

He releases me.

"Where are Finnick and your friend?" Prim asks.

"Um..." I search through the crowd. "I don't know."

I know they're expecting a girl to be my new friend.

All three of their eyes widen at once and then I feel a hand that sends heat through my body on my shoulder. "I'm sorry." He says. I turn around. He looks truly sorry. I frown.

"Sorry for what?" I ask.

"Finnick and I were being rude and ignoring you and reaching over you and it was disrespectful and I'm really sorry." He explains.

"Oh, it's okay."

"You looked annoyed." He says.

"Because I can't beat my level on flappy birds." I admit.

"Oh, I love that game." He grins.

"Me too, I'm only on level six."

"I'm on twenty nine." He says. "I can help you if you want me to." He says.

"Okay," I reply. Finnick is whispering to Prim and my parents. "Mama, Dad, Prim, this is Peeta Mellark."

"Nice to meet you Peeta, I'm Prim," She sticks her hand out.

He shakes it. "It's lovely to meet you." Peeta smiles.

"Your French, Peeta, aren't you?" Mama asks.

"I grew up in Paris." He explains. "My native language is French but I know both English and French fluently."

"Ah, I grew up in Brittany." Mom says.

"Ah, I love that town. It is very beautiful there."

"It is, well I'm Lillian Everdeen, Katniss's mother. You can just call me Lillian or Lily." Mama explains.

"It is delightful to meet you." Peeta says. Dad looks surprised, and he's looking at me and then at Peeta and then I see him give a small nod.

"I'm Ethan Everdeen, Kitten's Dad. You can just call me Ethan."

We all walk alongside one another on the way to get our luggage. "So, Peeta," Mama starts, "Does your family also speak English, or are you the only one?"

"Oh no, we all speak it fluently, you see. My mother is French but my father was born and raised in Ohio. My Dad was an exchange student to France and that's when my mother and father met; so all of us speak both languages fluently."

Mama nods. "That's nice." She smiles.

Dad and Peeta start talking then, about anything and everything.

"Sweetie, do you remember Gale?" she asks.

"My cousin. Yes Mama, I haven't seen him since I was seventeen."

"Yes. Well he's coming for Christmas and so is Aunt Hazelle, Uncle Jeffery and the children. So is Johanna and Uncle Haymitch and Aunt Effie, and of course Aunt Annabella, Uncle Bryon, Ethan and Madison." She says. "We're meeting them for dinner."

"What time is dinner?" I ask, reaching for my luggage. It disappears from underneath my hand and I look down to see Peeta picking it up without breaking eye contact or the conversation. "Excuse me," I say politely.

"Yes?" Dad asks.

"Peeta, that's mine." I point to my luggage.

"I know. I'll hold it for you, Katniss. Females should not be carrying anything. They have to do enough." He says. Then he resumes his conversation with my father. Dad, Finnick and Peeta trail ahead of us and Mama and Prim walk beside me.

"He's really nice, Katniss." Mama says. "Are you two dating?"

"No." I answer. "I'm not ready for that. Finnick swears I'm in love with him but…" I shake my head. "It's not like that."

"He's really sweet and he's very polite." Prim points out. "You guys have a lot in common, I can tell." She smiles and I smile back.

"Yeah." I mumble. We pick up the pace when we see they are already loading the luggage in the car.

"Someone is going to have to sit on somebody else's lap." Dad says.

Finnick gets in the car before it's even an option for me to sit on his lap because he constantly insists I fidget too much. Prim gets in the car too, because she isn't going to sit on Peeta's lap.

"I don't mind if you sit on my lap." Peeta says.

"Okay," I reply. He gets in the car and I sit down on his lap and shut the door. He grabs the seatbelt and reaches over me to buckle us. He doesn't seem bothered even in the slightest. He keeps talking with Dad and Finn, and eventually, he tells me I can sit back if I want to. I give in and sit back and he keeps talking. I pull out my phone and start to play flappy birds.

After almost an hour, he stops his conversation and begins to watch me. Then, he sweeps my hair over my right shoulder and rests his chin on my bare left shoulder. "Don't hit the screen so angry." His arms wound around my waist and he takes my phone and helps me.

I notice the eyes on us but it doesn't bother me. He easily gets to level ten. "How did you do that?" I ask.

"Gently," he says. "You try."

I take my phone and gently tap the screen and make myself remain calm. I get to level eleven and I grin happily and he laughs. "If you keep playing like that it works." He says. The car stops and I smile when I see the house. Even from here, I can see the forest over the rooftops. I unbuckle and get out. Everyone else clambers out and Peeta insists on taking my luggage and his own. Dad locks the car and we walk into the house. It smells like oak in here.

It smells like _home_ in here. The thought makes me smile. Finnick walks off to his room, I lead Peeta to my room, which is my old bedroom, and then I drop my stuff in his room.

"Hey Katniss?" Peeta asks.

"Yes?" I walk into my bedroom.

"Is this your old bedroom?" he asks.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Forest green walls," he points.

"I can't believe you remember that is my favorite color."

He smiles. "I remember everything you tell me."

I smile. "Any why is that?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I listen to people I care about."

…..a…

All I can think about is how exhausted I am.

Last night I was up late packing and as I was going to bed I could only think of Peeta. After I got off the phone we watched a movie, I fell asleep on his couch and when I woke it was midnight, and he was sleeping. I was molded into his side and my head was buried in his chest. Our legs were entwined and his arms were holding me hostage.

I almost didn't get up.

When I went home I packed and then lied in bed thinking about his arms wrapped around me.

He's amazing.

It's only Mama, Dad, Prim, Finn and Peeta here just yet, and my back is to the door.

"You guys should move seats." Mom says. I run my hands over my face and move in between Peeta and Finn.

"BRAINLESS!" Johanna's booming voice echoes from across the restaurant. I grin and get up and hug her. They all take their seats one by one. I introduce Peeta and everyone hides there shock.

Johanna looks at me and then at Peeta and then she says "Exploitez-vous que gros morceau sexy de la viande?" (Are you tapping that sexy hunk of meat?)

Aunt Effie slams her hand down on the table and my entire face must go bright red.

"Il a grandi à Paris, idiot. Il sait chaque mot que nous disons." I hiss. (He grew up in Paris, idiot. He knows every single word we're saying.)

"Oh." She says. "Well are you?"

"No!" I exclaim.

"Why the fuck not?"

"Johanna." I hiss. I have no patience for her rude language and disrespectful table manners.

"Whatever." She says.

We catch up during dinner and then Haymitch orders dessert.

"That guy is watching you Katniss." Ethan says. I look up and Ethan nods across the restaurant.

The table drifts into silence when he's recognized and Peeta just looks confused.

"Hey brainless isn't that the dick who raped you?" Johanna blurts. I glance up at Peeta who looks completely shocked.

"What?" He asks.

It is Cato Harris. He is the guy that raped me.

"Dammit Johanna!" I stand up. Cato is staring at me with such an intensity and I'm so angry at Johanna that I flick him off. His eyes flash in anger and I head to storm out of the restaurant when he grabs my arm and pins me against the wall. I panic for two seconds before my knee connects with his groin and my fist connects with his cheek. He releases me and I shove him backwards and walk out of the restaurant.

I walk for a while and I start crying. I come to the old park and sit down on one of the hills. It's snowing outside and few people are here. I pull my knees to my chest and just cry.

Two minutes later, Peeta sits down next to me. "You thought I was an inconsiderate jerk off because that guy raped you and you think every man is going to hurt you." He whispers. "And when I asked if it was a broken heart you said close enough."

I don't reply.

"When I woke up and you were gone, I was sad." He blurts. I look up at him and he wipes away my tears. He looks down at his hands. "But I can't be." He says.

"Be what?" I ask.

"Sad." He whispers.

"Why?"

We are so close that if he moves another inch forward our lips would connect. He shrugs in reply. "You don't have to be upset that I know, Katniss. To be honest I suspected something bad happened that had to do with a male. You see, as I told you the day we met, I am a very likable person. A lot of girls all attack me. You kind of kept your distance and I knew I had to make you trust me first." He explains. "You do trust me, don't you, Katniss?"

"Yes." I whisper.

"Good. So what happened?"

"I dated him when I was sixteen. He said he loved me." I shrug. "I believed him. He kept trying to stick his hand up my shirt or in my pants. He wanted sex and I'm religious and everything so I don't want to have sex till I was married." I shudder. "Then one day we were working on a science project. Mama, Dad and Prim went out to dinner and wanted me to go. I told them no because of the project. Ten minutes after they left and pinned me to the floor and he wouldn't get off me." I inhale sharply. "I was so, so stupid to trust him."

"Why did you trust Finnick?" He wipes away my tears.

"He was meeting us to work on the project. After Cato… finished, he left. Finnick came over and I was still naked and I was just lying there. I think I was screaming but I don't really remember. The next thing I knew my hair was wet and I was in bed and I was crying in Finn's arms."

"Your hair was wet?" He asks.

"He bathed me, I suppose. I don't know, I never asked. He didn't leave me alone for days."

"Oh." He whispers. He is even closer to me now then he was earlier. The conversation died on his lips.

I watch as his eyes flicker down to my lips. We start leaning closer but he backs up right before his lips meet mine. He looks frustrated and angry. "They're going to be worried." He says.

"Right." I look down.

He stands up and extends a hand. I almost don't take it, but I do, and he pulls me to my feet. He holds into my hand, too, not linked fingers, but like a mother holding onto her child in the parking lot.

He doesn't drop it until we get to the restaurant. "Wait." I stop him before we walk inside. "Does it look like I was crying?"

"No." He says. He drops my hand and opens the door for me. "Just letting you know." He whispers, making me stop. "If he touches you again I'll kill him." Our eyes lock and in shocked he just said that. He doesn't look like he's kidding.

"Better get your knife then." I whisper back as I walk into the restaurant. He steps in behind me and let's the door shut before leading us back to the table.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry Katniss I thought he knew I'm really sorry." Johanna says. "Are you guys okay? I didn't mean to mess anything up."

"We're fine." I sit down. Peeta is just about to sit down when he and Cato lock eyes. Cato looks away from him, and then looks at me with a glare.

And then Peeta starts walking toward him.

"What is he doing?" I demand. Finnick gets up and jogs to catch up with Peeta, and instead of stopping him like I thought he was going to, he walks beside him.

One good thing is I can read lips really well.

"You need to leave Katniss alone." Peeta crosses his arms.

"I'm not doing anything." Cato says.

"We'll stop staring at her. Your an asshole and you need to leave her alone." Peeta says.

"And if I don't?" Cato asks.

"Then I kick your ass." Peeta says.

"And I help." Finnick says.

"Well then, you can go to jail." Cato says.

"I don't care if I go to jail protecting Katniss. I would die for her without a second thought." Peeta hisses.

What? He would? Really?

"Well you're pretty stupid." Cato says.

"No I'm not." Then he walks back to the table with Finnick behind him.

Our food is delivered and we eat dessert. "I thought Gale was coming." Johanna says.

"Oh darling, he is. He's running late." Aunt Effie explains.

"Are they doing Karaoke?" Johanna asks.

"We haven't sung in a while." Mama says.

My family is very musical and everyone can sing. I can too, I just don't. they all think I can't sing because I refused to sing and I told them I can't sing, and they believe me. Johanna is watching someone from across the restaurant and I follow her gaze. Peeta looks down at his phone and stands up. "I'll be right back." He says.

"Okay." Mama smiles. He walks away, and doesn't press answer on his phone until he's gone.

"He's acting weird." Finn blurts. "I think he's hiding something."

"You like him Katniss." Aunt Annabella says confidently.

"I do not." I say quickly.

"Indeniallllll!" Johanna sings. I laugh.

"I don't like him." I reply.

"It looks like he's arguing with whoever is on the phone." Prim says.

"Stop being nosy." I say.

"Prim it's rude to eavesdrop." Mama says.

"I don't care."

Still, all of us find ourselves watching him. He does look angry with whoever is on the phone and it is clear he is arguing. Then he hangs up and paces around for five minutes.

When he comes back inside, he pretends perfectly fine.

Gale rushes into the door with a blond girl at his side. Aside from Johanna, he is my favorite cousin. "Sorry we're late." He sits down. "Traffic was horrible."

"Yeah, that's why your late." Johanna says. His face and the girls face goes bright red. Hazelle shakes her head.

"Gale, you know how I feel about sex before marriage."

"Well I think it's stupid. I don't want to have to jerk off." He says. He turns to Peeta. "I don't know you."

"Gale this is Peeta, Peeta, this is my cousin Gale."

"Nice to meet you Peeta."

"Nice to meet you." they shake hands. I can tell by Peeta's tone that he really is pissed about who was on the phone.

"Est-il votre ami?" Gale asks me. (Is he your boyfriend?)

"Pas et il est de Paris. Il sait ce que nous disowns. Oh, et merci pour un bonjour. Ce n'est pas comme si je ne t'ai pas vu depuis que nous étions dix-huit ans." I reply. (No and he's from Paris. He knows what we're saying. Oh, and thanks for a hello. It's not like I haven't seen you since we were eighteen.)

"Hé." He says. (Hey).

I roll my eyes. "A little late." I reply. He laughs.

We all talk for hours and I start getting even more exhausted. I drop my head on the table. Peeta, who has been silent for a long time, places his hand on my back. "Are you alright?" he asks.

"I'm tired." I mumble.

"So sleep," he answers.

I shake my head. "That's weird." I mumble.

**As a matter of fact, I'm making the turning point happen the chapter after the next chapter. It's going to be different than last time but **_**DON'T SPOIL IT**_**!**


	4. Chapter 4

"_You are so beautiful Katniss Joy." His lips connect with any part of my skin they can reach. My breathing is coming out in ragged gasps. "You make me crazy." his fingers outline my lips and nose. "And I love you, my beautiful wife." His lips connect to my lips this time. _

"_I love you, too." I gasp. He starts trailing kisses lower and lower on my naked body. _

_And lower…and lower… _

I gasp and fly up in bed. I'm wet, and it's not in sweat.

I have never had a dream like that, ever, not once in my entire life. Johanna, Prim and I are sharing Prim's king sized bed and I'm in the middle.

"What's wrong?" Prim whispers through the darkness.

"Only shit," I whisper. Johanna sits up.

"What's the matter?" she flicks on the light.

"I-I-I-"

"Realized that Finnick is _right_ and that you do love Peeta?" Prim asks.

"You just had a dream of the two of you having sex, didn't you?" she asks.

"No." I lie.

"Your eyes are dark gray, your sweating all over the place and your nipples are straining in your shirt." She points out.

Prim reaches over and flicks on the light on her bedside table. "Your horny as fuck right now." She snickers and Johanna joins in. Then they're laughing so loud that I hear a door shut down the hall. Finn walks into the room with his hair all over the place.

"Shut the fuck-shit Kitty, did you have a wet dream?"

Then he starts laughing too. I moan loudly, embarrassed. "And I'm guessing you realized I'm right. That you do-"

"Why are you guys awake at four in the morning?" Peeta asks. He's in sweat pants with no shirt on, and I look away from him because he looks so fucking sexy that I really just want to take his clothes-_stop thinking like that!_

"Katniss had a dream." Prim says.

The three of them start laughing again. "I'm going hunting." I throw the covers off of me.

"Now? At four in the morning?" Peeta asks.

"Yes." I reply. I get my hunting jacket and boots, a long sleeve shirt and jeans and socks and walk off to the hall and into the bathroom. I slam the door on accident.

…..a…..

I have never masturbated before in my entire life and that dream drove me so crazy that I did when I took a shower.

I can't concentrate on anything. I walk through the forest to the lake and sit down on a rock. I learnt to swim here. I used to jump off this rock into the lake. I pull out an arrow and jab at the ice.

It's late, probably three in the afternoon. My knees are pulled up against my chest and my right arm is around my legs. My left hand has the arrow. A stick cracks behind me and I whip around, bow loaded. Dad puts his hands up and I lower my arrow to the ground. "I was planning on pretending I didn't know what happened this morning…but Finnick told Me." he sits down next to me and watches me poke at the ice.

"That doesn't surprise me." I whisper. The ice cracks all the way across and the water beneath breaks free.

"I know since I'm your father I'm supposed to be against you being with any boy…but Peeta is nice. I want you to marry him."

"I'm never getting married." I whisper.

"Katniss you can't let what happened with Cato rule your life." he says.

"Well…" I don't say anything. I hear a rustle of leaves to my left and we both look up. I see a deer about a hundred yards from here and I shoot it down. Dad says nothing for a while.

"Peeta's a great guy. I think you need to stop hiding. You're in love with him. I know you don't think so, but I can see it. You look at him the same way your mother looks at me."

I remain silent.

"And he looks at you the way I look at her."

"He doesn't." I shake my head.

"He does." he says. "He's having an internal conflict. I can see it. It's like he doesn't know what to do. He's a great guy, Katniss. You love him. Just think about it." He gets up, gathers the deer and disappears into the trees.

"Dad?" I call. He walks back out.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared of love." I admit.

"You have nothing to be afraid of." Then he walks away.

I feel like I could cry right now.

And that's exactly what I end up doing. I cry and cry and cry and cry until I can't cry anymore. It's three in the morning when I go home.

…a…

I spend the next whole day shopping and the day after that begins in the kitchen. "I don't know I how make this." I stare at the box of cookies. I'm standing in the living room. "What flowers? Everything is dead." I look out the window. "The one's from the store?" I reach for my car keys, but Peeta bursts out laughing.

"Flour." He says. "F-L-O-U-R."

"What is that?" He stands up and takes my hand, pulling me into the kitchen. "Peeta what is that?" I ask. He just keeps laughing. "Stop laughing at me!" I finally burst.

"I'm sorry…I just…when you grow up in a bakery." He shakes his head. He beings to help me. After a while, his phone starts ringing. He sighs and stares at the screen for a moment. "Hey Rye," he says. "I don't really care." He looks at me for a moment before grabbing a bag of some white powder on it and a bottle of brown liquid. "Yeah I'm with her now." He says. I look up at him and narrow my eyes. He mouths _my brother_ to me and I nod. He doesn't ever talk about his family, all I know it he has two brothers and his parents. "Rye-" he cuts off and listens for a minute. "Well then…just…" he sighs sharply and starts listening again. "Don't do that." He says. "I will…I just…not right now Rye." He says. He listens again. "That's what I plan to do…no I don't…yeah I know it's bad…look Rye, I'm kind of busy-" He cuts off again. "No! it's not like that!" then he laughs. "Whatever. I'll talk to you later. say hi to Mom and Dad and Graham for me." he hangs up and sighs.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"It's fine, my brother is just being a pain."


	5. Chapter 5

Peeta Ryan: _hey I'm gonna be home from Paris by seven tonight. Can we meet for dinner? We really need to talk about something. _

It's July first. It's been almost eight months we've know each other and he keeps getting more and more secretive. I haven't seen or let alone talked to him in almost a month and now he wants to meet for dinner.

I'm going to find out what the hell is going on tonight, I can just tell.

Johanna and Gale moved to New York City. I pick mt phone up off of my desk in my cubicle and type back.

Me: _am I finally going to find out why you won't talk to me? _

Peeta Ryan: _yes. I'm really sorry about all of this. I'm really sorry._

Me: _where am I meeting you at_

Peeta Ryan: _Carrabba's down the street from Starbucks _

Me: _ill be there but if you make me mad I'm leaving. _

He has been making me really angry lately. He knows it, too. Last time I saw him we got into a really loud argument and I haven't made a move to talk to him again.

Peeta Ryan: _understood. _

I don't answer him, I just finish adding the songs to an album together.

Six hits and I leave. I hope he doesn't expect me to look nice. We're not exactly on good terms. I go home and notify Johanna, Gale and Finn. They're at my apartment literally ten minutes later. "He better tell you what's going on." Gale says. "He's not just your friend and I want to know what the fuck is wrong."

"Me too," Johanna says.

"Ditto," Finn interjects. It's hot outside, so I get white shorts and a plain yellow t-shirt, braid my hair and sit around until seven forty five. It's a twenty minute drive but I'm purposely going to be late.

"You're going to be late." Finn says.

"Good." I grab my backpack purse and walk out the front door.

…..a…..

I'm fifteen minutes late. When I walk up, he's sitting on a bench with his head in his hands and I find myself growing concerned. When my sneakers are in his view, he looks up. Even though I should be mad at him, I still find myself getting warm. "I thought you weren't going to come." He says.

"Well…I'm not going to do that." I reply. He stands up. He's in jeans and a tight t-shirt.

He leads me inside and gets us seated in a private part of the restaurant, way away from everyone.

We make small talk, which I've always been terrible at, and I find myself forcing laughter and faking the smiles. "Okay let's stop pretending." He says. "I hate being fake. Especially around you." he sits back. "I want you to guess what I'm hiding, because you're right, I am hiding something."

"I don't know." I mumble.

"Well think." He presses.

"I just…are you dying?" He shakes his head. "Married?" he shakes his head. "Do you have a kid? Are you moving back home?

"No and no." he says.

"Well then I give up."

We've had so many near kisses since that night he found out I was raped. I know I love him; I know I do. I've almost told him one too many times. "Before I tell you, I want you to know something." He says.

"What?" I whisper.

"I'm in love with you. I'm so desperately in love with you. I want to marry you and be the father of your children and I would take you any day."

"I…love you…too." I look down. "I think I always did."

He smiles, and I smile back, and it's a real one, but his disappears too quickly, and mine fades away. Then he blurts, "Don't leave until I'm done but my fiancé is moving down here tomorrow."

_Fiance? _He's engaged?

"And we're getting married in two weeks."

"Fiance?" I whisper. I feel like someone has a knife and is stabbing every part of my body.

"I wanted to tell you." he whispers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask. I don't even sound angry…but I don't recognize my voice.

"I wanted to! But I loved you first and when I saw you-"

I need to get out of here. No, I _have _to get out of here. I feel like I may die if I don't.

I stand up. "I-I'm sorry." I wipe away the tears spilling down my cheeks. "I have to go."

And then I run off.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't go home, well, not to my apartment. I go home to Kentucky. It's two in the afternoon when I walk in the front door.

"Katniss?" Mama stands up.

"Kat?" Prim's eyes are filled with concern. Dad stands up too.

"I thought you said I didn't have to be afraid of love." I whisper.

"Katniss…" Prim looks like she's about to start crying. "What happened?" she looks scared, too. My eyes are wide and filled with tears. My nose is stuffy, my hands are trembling.

"You said I didn't have to be afraid. You lied to me." I break and fall down to my knees. I start crying, harder than I've never cried before. I bury my face in my hands.

"Oh my god." Mama gasps.

"Katniss," Dad pulls me into his lap. "Katniss, what happened?"

"H-he's engaged…and g-getting married in t-t-two weeks!"

"Peeta is?" Prim asks. I don't need to answer. Mama gets on the phone and Dad carries me to the couch and holds me in his arms.

"I didn't lie to you." he whispers. "Love is stronger than anything. People say hope is stronger but it's not, love is stronger than anything in the world. Love is going to guide you in the right direction, whether it's with Peeta or not."

….a….

I can't stop crying and it's been a week and a half. There's only four days left until the wedding. Gale, Jo and Finn were flipping out and they came to Kentucky. Finn explained to my boss who said he under stood and is giving me paid time off. I've made it through half the day without a single tear.

"Let's listen to Taylor Swift." Prim suggests. She doesn't like that I refuse to speak. Johanna puts my music on shuffle and turns the volume up.

My head on my legs, which are pulled against my chest.

The song Speak Now comes on.

And that's when it clicks.

_I am not the kind of girl_

_Who should be rudely barging in_

_On a white veil occasion_

_But you are not the kind of boy_

_Who should be marrying the wrong girl_

_I sneak in and see your friends_

_And her snotty little family_

_All dressed in pastel_

_And she is yelling at a bridesmaid_

_Somewhere back inside a room_

_Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry_

_This is_

_Surely not what you thought it would be_

_I lose myself in a daydream_

_Where I stand and say_

_Don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out_

_Of the church at the back door_

_Don't wait or say a single vow_

_You need to hear me out_

_And they said "speak now"_

_Fond gestures are exchanged_

_And the organ starts to play_

_A song that sounds like a deathmarch_

_And I am hiding in the curtains_

_It seems that I was uninvited_

_By your lovely bride-to-be_

_She floats down the aisle_

_Like a pageant queen._

_But I know you wish it was me_

_You wish it was me (Don't you?)_

_Don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out_

_Of the church at the back door_

_Don't wait or say a single vow_

_You need to hear me out_

_And they said "speak now"_

_Don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out_

_Of the church at the back door_

_Don't wait or say a single vow_

_Your time is running out_

_And they said, "speak now"_

_Oh Oh Oh! ( say a single vow... )_

_I hear the preacher say_

_"Speak now or forever hold your peace"_

_There's the silence, there's my last chance_

_I stand up with shaking hands_

_All eyes on me_

_Horrified looks from_

_Everyone in the room_

_But I'm only looking at you._

_I am not the kind of girl_

_Who should be rudely barging in_

_On a white veil occasion_

_But you are not the kind of boy_

_Who should be marrying the wrong girl!_

_( Ha! )_

_So don't say yes, run away now_

_I'll meet you when you're out_

_Of the church at the back door_

_Don't wait or say a single vow_

_You need to hear me out_

_And they said, "speak now!"_

_And you'll say_

_Let's run away now_

_I'll meet you when I'm out_

_Of my tux at the back door_

_Baby, I didn't say my vows_

_So glad you were around when they said_

_Speak Now_

My head is lifted off my lap now.

The song changes to Enchanted.

_There I was again tonight, forcing laughter, faking smiles_

_Same old, tired lonely place_

_Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy_

_Vanished when I saw your face_

_All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you_

_Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?" across the room, your silhouette_

_Starts to make its way to me_

_The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks_

_Like passing notes in secrecy_

_And it was enchanting to meet you_

_All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you_

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

_The lingering question kept me up, 2 a.m., who do you love?_

_I wonder 'till I'm wide awake_

_Now I'm pacing back and forth, wishing you were at my door_

_I'd open up and you would say Heyyy_

_It was enchanting to meet you_

_All I know is I was enchanted to meet you_

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_This night is flawless, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

_This is me praying that_

_This was the very first page, not where the storyline ends_

_My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again_

_These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_This night is flawless, don't you let it go_

_I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone_

_I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_I was enchanted to meet you_

_Please don't be in love with someone else_

_Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

I stand up. "I'm going home."

"Good luck." Mom says.

…..a…..

"_Plutarch," I walk into my boss's office. The wedding is tomorrow. _

"_Katniss!" he looks surprised. Finnick walks in behind me. _

"_I need a giant favor." _

I stand behind the curtain in the church. The ceremony is happening now. I peek out every now and then. I don't understand why Peeta said he loves me when Delly is beautiful. I'm nervous and I'm tapping on my heels in silence, my fingers wringing together.

I don't dress up, but today is an exception. I always dress up in church and since Peeta is catholic like me, I've dressed up. I have on a white button up shirt with a red tank top underneath it, and then a white skirt with a black elastic waistband with light pink roses on it. The bands on my wrist on this shirt are black, too; and I have on white flats.

"If any man or women can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let him or her now speak, or else here after forever hold their peace."

I hold my breath and wait.

Then my world goes black and everything being murmuring in confusion.

My heart speeds up and I back away towards the door. Finnick is in the room with the panel that shuts off the power. He's just shut it off. He's going to turn on the music, which we changed to a song I got Plutarch let me record.

It's the song Enchanted.

I hear the hum of the music begin and then the guitar and the violin and it gets louder and louder and then I start singing. No the real me, but the fake me on the CD.

"Who the hell is this?" Delly screams. People are murmuring louder now. I hear heels clicking and I run for it. I know my heels can be heard on the tile floor. Just as I slip out the door, the curtains are drawn back. I run down the street after taking off my heels, dodging people. Even from here, I can hear the song being played.

I feel like someone is chasing me, so I run faster and turn down the block and run all the way back to the church and dive into a bush. Finnick is staying inside, hidden. It's on the guitar solo and I can hear voices, loud ones from inside the church.

_This is me praying that_

_This was the very first page, not where the storyline ends  
My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again  
These are the words I held back as I was leaving too soon  
I was enchanted to meet you_

_Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you  
Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

_This night is sparkling, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, blushing all the way home  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew_

_This night is flawless, don't you let it go  
I'm wonder-struck, dancing around all alone  
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew  
I was enchanted to meet you_

_Please don't be in love with someone else  
Please don't have somebody waiting on you_

I wonder if Peeta knows it is me.

Oh of course he knows.

"Psst!" Finn hisses from the side door. I walk over to him. "The song is almost over. Are you exposing yourself or not?" he whispers.

"I'll do it." I whisper. He pulls me in the church and we stand together. The song ends and everyone drifts into silence. Finnick disappears.

"Peeta, what the hell is going on?" Delly screeches. _I really don't like her_, I decide. She's rude talking to him like that. The lights come on. I hear heels clicking again. "Peeta, what is going on?" She screeches. "Who was that singing? Who have you been hanging around with? Are you having an affair?"

"It's not like that." Peeta says.

"Well what the _hell_ is this?" she hisses. I move the curtain a tiny bit, just enough for me to hardly see. Nobody can see me, there's no way.

"Don't swear like that. Not in a church, that's rude." Peeta shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Who was singing that song? You better answer me."

"Stop." He says.

"Peeta who was singing the song?" she snaps. Finnick puts his hand on my back. I look at him in fear and he peeks out of the curtain and nudges my shoulder. "Peeta, answer me!"

"Stop it." He says.

"Who was singing the song?" she asks for the billionth time. Finnick pushes my suddenly, out of the curtain and I almost trip, but I steady myself.

I don't have to say anything because I bump one of the music stands and send it flying to the floor, shooting papers everywhere.

The bang echoes around the walls of the church, and I hear Finnick snicker.

I am so embarrassed right now that I could start crying. I kneel down on the floor and pick up the stand and start crawling around on the floor to pick up the papers. Everyone is just staring at me in silence. There are at _least_ two hundred papers I've sent flying everywhere, and I've only got ten of them. I can hear someone walking and I know it's towards me, and I don't look up because I'm nervous. I'm expecting them to kick me in the stomach, but they don't, they kneel down and start helping me.

I reach for another page, but the person grabs my arm and warmth spreads through my entire body. I look up and meet Peeta's blue eyes. "Stop." He whispers.

"What?" I whisper back.

"Let me." he grabs more papers. I shake my head.

"No, I knocked them over, I'm-" gasps fill the room when he shoots forward and presses his lips to mine. His hands send the papers he's holding flying around as he moves his hands to cup both of my cheeks.

His lips are even better now than they are in my dreams. My eyes flutter closed at the same time as his.

Four boys sitting in the front row of the church stand up on the pew, and start screaming 'about time!'

Other than that, everyone is quiet. Slowly, he pulls away, his thumbs running along my cheekbones. I have to nearly force my eyes open to look at him. Then he lets his hands slide down my arms and he starts collecting papers. I help him again. "Katniss." He grabs my wrists to stop me.

"What?" I mumble.

"You shouldn't be doing this." He says.

"Doing what?" I ask. He reads me like a book.

"Not that." He whispers. "Helping me, you shouldn't be on the floor."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because woman shouldn't be doing work; they should be allowed to lie around and eat potato chips." I can hear the playfulness in his voice and I smile.

"Well then consider me a man." I smile. He laughs softly.

"I can't do that. Not when you're in a skirt in front of me." he says. "And when you look so beautiful that I'm distracted right now." He said it so quietly that I could barely hear him.

My entire face flushes red, and I make a reach for another paper but he snags it out of my reach and scrambles to collect the rest of the papers, holding them with one arm as he pulls me off the floor. He uses his knee to straighten them out and then he sets them back on the stand.

I feel the suffocating urge to apologize. I turn to the priest, who is staring at me. "I'm sorry…for knocking the stand over. I didn't mean to. If I broke it, I have no problem paying to fix it."

I see a group of people that all resemble Peeta in some way exchange glances and start nodding.

Delly looks pissed off. "Can we get on with this please? Someone throw _her_ out!" She points at me in disgust. Peeta puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Uh…I don't want to marry you." Peeta says. "I love Katniss. I was in love with her before I even met you."

"What?" she shrieks. He sighs in plain annoyance.

"I don't love you. I wasn't planning on marrying you anyways." I hear the back door click behind me and Peeta looks at me in confusion.

"It's Finn." I whisper. He doesn't answer, because Delly lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

"I didn't want to marry you anyways! I just wanted your money because your family is wealthy!"

He shrugs. "Alright well you can't hand a dime. I want you out of my house in three days."

"It's not your house." She crosses her arms.

"If you want to be a pain then I'll just go get a lawyer. You and I both know the house is mine. It's in my name. It's my furniture and I'm the one working to get the money to pay for it."

"What makes her so much better than me?" She crosses her arms.

I know, the answer is nothing.

"Uh, everything, she's nice to people, she has a heart, she's not a jerk, she doesn't make me sleep on the couch, she actually talks to me, she doesn't order me around, she's beautiful, she doesn't fake anything. Need I go on?"

"Where are you staying until I get out?" she demands.

"Oh you're not sleeping in my house; you just have three days to get everything out before I toss it in the lake down the street." He explains.

"Can I at least have money for a hotel?"

"Sure." Peeta says. "You'll get money when you get a job." Then he takes my hand. He doesn't hold it like we're friends, he links our fingers and holds my hand like we're in a relationship.

And then, without another word, he pulls me out of the church.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, someone is saying Peeta is basically an idiot for getting engaged to Delly. **

**He didn't speak to Katniss when he fell in love with her. He only saw her talking with Finnick. He didn't know a thing about her. It's like going to the grocery store and you see someone. **

**What are the changes of you meeting them again? **

**Like one and infinity. He didn't expect to meet Katniss. That's why he found Delly.**

"Hello?" Dad asks.

"Dad?" I ask.

"Kitten!" he sounds really relived.

"PUT IT ON SPEAKER!" Prim screams in the background.

"Katniss how are you?" Mom asks.

"I'm okay…" I trail off. Peeta locks eyes with me, and he winks. I feel my cheeks heat up and I duck my head. He laughs softly, but he stays silent and lets me talk to my family as he sits down next to me on the couch and pulls me against him. I lean my head on his shoulder.

"Okay? Only okay? Oh god Katniss, did he go with Delly?" Prim sounds like she's about to brusrt into tears.

"Dad?" I ask.

"Yeah?" he sounds pained.

"You were right…" I reach for Peeta's hand. "About love…"

I hear silence for a long time. "So it worked out then?" Mom sounds hopeful.

"Yes." I mumble. We're at my apartment, simply because Delly is at Peeta's house and he said he wants nothing to do with her.

"So you guys are good?" Prim asks.

"Yes."

"Give us something more, Katniss!" Mom says. "Did you kiss? How did it happen?"

I sigh and begin to explain everything. Peeta's phone starts ringing and he stares at it for a moment. Then he stands up and releases my hand. "-Hang on." I cut off at the part of Finnick pushing me out of the curtain. "Where are you going?" I stand up.

"I'm just going right outside." He says. "I'll even leave the door open, I promise." He kisses my forehead. His lips are warm and soft and feel incredible on my skin.

_I wonder what they would feel like down on me v- _I shake the thought from my head. I'm not having sex with Peeta until and if we get married. "Okay…" I watch him go. I don't want him out of my sight for god knows how long, and I know tonight is going to be a sleepless night. "-Anyways, and then I knocked over a music stand and I sent papers flying and it was so loud. Everyone was looking at me and I started picking up papers. Peeta came over and helped me…" I continue the story. When I'm done, Peeta still isn't back from outside. The door is open a bit, and I don't want to be nosy, but I want him to come inside.

Just when I'm about to get up, he walks into the apartment, still on the phone. "Maman, d'accord…oui maman…Je lui demande maintenant." He says. (Mom, okay…yes Mom…I'm asking her now.) "Je te rapelle." (I'll call you back.) "Oui, je t'aime aussi. Au revoir." (Yes, I love you too. Bye.)

He hangs up and shuts the door. "I had a question. This has nothing to do with my mother." He sits down and turns to face me.

"Okay." I link our fingers on both of our hands.

"Don't get creeped out because it doesn't mean anything but are you not allowed to have sex till marriage? Because I'm not allowed to and I just want you to know in case um…" he doesn't finish his sentence.

"I'm not allowed." I reply.

"Okay." He says. He keeps our fingers linked as he pushes me so I'm lying down on the couch. "My mom is in love with you. Actually, my whole family is in love with you."

"I thought they liked Delly." I mumble.

"They hate her." He replies. "Anyways." He slides his right hand down my side and lets it rest on my hip. "They want you to come to Paris with your family for Thanksgiving and Christmas and stay from the week before Thanksgiving all the way till the week after New Year's."

"That's almost two months. I can't get off of work that long-"

"Oh, you can quit your job there and come work at the bakery. I'll pay you better and you can have time off whenever you want and I'll still pay you."

"I can't bake." I remind him.

"You don't have to. You can do stocks and everything else." He says. I'm still in the skirt and everything but he's not, he stopped at home and got clothes. It's only three in the afternoon. He's in dark basketball shorts with pockets. He doesn't have a shirt.

"What did Delly mean about money?" I blurt.

He looks like he doesn't want to tell me. "Well my family is very wealthy in both American money and in French money because they have bakeries all over the country in France, and in the United States. Please don't think of my differently." He practically begs.

"I wouldn't care if your dirt poor." I whisper. He moves suddenly so he's hovering above me.

"Promise?" he presses his lips to mine for a moment.

"Promise." I confirm.

"I want you to know that if I am pushing your limitations on anything or making you uncomfortable to tell me. I want to go at your pace."

"I want to go at your pace." I mumble. He kisses my lips again.

"I don't have a pace." He whispers.

I lift my hands onto his stomach. He doesn't move; he just stares at me. "Do you work out?" I blurt, beginning to run my hands up and down his chest and stomach and his biceps, which flex with every move he makes.

"No, I work in a bakery." He sits back.

"All the Mellark's are sexy like you?" I ask. Then I flush red when I basically admitted I think he's sexy. "Actually, that's impossible." I mumble. He smiles and kisses me again.

"Thank you." he whispers.

"For what?" I sit up and scoot closer to him.

"Calling me sexy and for living." He replies. "Now can I ask you something that has been bugging me since Christmas?"

"Okay." I reply. I scoot even closer to him, and he just pulls me into his lap.

"What was everybody laughing about that morning at four in the morning?" he asks.

"Oh dear god…" I groan loudly. "Just…I just…"

"You don't have to tell Me." he says quickly.

"You're going to be uncomfortable…" I mumble.

"That's okay." He pulls me closer.

"I just…had a dream and we were sort of…well you were…your mouth…it was going lower and uh…it sort of…um…" I sigh. "You made me um…"

"I think I know. You don't have to say it." He says.

"I've made things awkward." I stand up and back up. He stands up too, and gently pulls me on top of him, lying down.

"You didn't make anything awkward." He kisses me again. "Can I try something I've always wanted to do to you?" he asks.

"Okay." I reply. He flips so I'm beneath him.

"Are you sure?" he asks, searching my eyes for any sign of hesitation. I swallow nervously and nod. "Remember limitations." He whispers. "I've never gotten to do this to a girl. Delly and I only kissed about two times and it was only little ones, like this." He pecks me lips. "I know you've made out with someone."

"Not somebody I care about." I whisper. "He doesn't count."

"Katniss I don't want to push your limits." He whispers, sitting back.

"I'll be fine." I sit up and move real close to him. He's facing me and I'm facing him.

"Katniss Joy…" he runs his fingers through my hair. "I just…"

"Peeta I'll be perfectly fine." He looks extremely hesitant as he leans forwards and kisses me. It's only a small back, but them he kisses me again, harder this time. He places his hands on my hips to pull me in his lap. Our lips fit together perfectly, molding against each other. He swipes his tongue across my bottom lip and I open my mouth. His hands turn to fists and slide to my back, uncurling. He starts to lean forwards, lowering me so I'm lying down on the couch beneath him. He pulls away for us to catch our breath and then connects our lips again. He begins to kiss down my jaw and then all over my neck. A low moan escapes my throat.

"You're so beautiful." He murmurs before moving back to my lips.

"I can't." I groan. His lips leave mine right when the words hit his ears. "Waiting until we get married, _if_ we get married, is going to be nearly impossible." He lets out a shaky breath.

"I know it is." His eyes are dark blue and I think it's with desire. "You affect me…you have no idea how much you affect me."

"I would say we can do everything possible without having sex but technically I'm already pushing the limits."

"Gale had sex." He points out.

"Yeah but Gale is hardly my cousin. He's like a second cousin. He doesn't get in trouble because his parents got pregnant with him before marriage. That's why we're not so close to them, because they got shunned for years." He sits back and pulls me up with him. "So who yelled at him?"

"His mom; she doesn't want him to have a kid before marriage."

"Oh." He frowns. He slips his hand under my shirt, and I tense, but he doesn't go up, he just moves to my back and rubs. "What do you want for dinner?" he kisses my lips and my forehead.

"What are my options?" I ask.

"We can have anything. We can go out or we can make something. Actually, I'll be cooking. You should never have to cook. You shouldn't do laundry, or cook, or clean."

"Well I'm going to end up doing those things anyways.

"Not under my watch." He grins. "Would you even want to marry me?"

"I never wanted to get married." I admit. His face falls. "But you're the exception."

He grins and then we start making out again.


	8. Chapter 8

We ended up eating at my house, and now we're watching a movie.

Well a movie is playing but we're too busy making out to watch it.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" he mumbles against my lips.

"Working till six," I mumble.

"Why? Quit your job." He says.

"It doesn't work that way."

"Yes it does. You say 'I quit' and then come work for me. You can be seeing the boss." He grins.

"What if we break up and I become jobless?"

"That won't happen."

"If we do break up-"

"We won't but I won't fire you if we do but we won't." the screen is dark. It's almost midnight.

"I'll…I'll think about it, okay." I trail my fingers down his bare chest.

"Okay." He whispers. "I have to get going." He kisses me again and stands up. I get up too.

"Want me to drive you?" I ask. I took a shower after dinner and now I'm in sweats and a t-shirt and I don't have a bra on underneath. I'm completely ready for bed.

"No, I want you to get some sleep." He picks me up braid style and walks across my apartment. He pulls back the covers and lays me down. Then he pulls the covers up and tucks me in. "Will I see you tomorrow?" he asks.

"Um…I don't know. I'm going to probably be working late tomorrow."

"Fine…" he sighs and dips down to give me a long kiss. "I'll see you…when I do. call me though, okay? I can't go another day without hearing your voice."

"Okay." I whisper.

He hesitates for a moment. "I love you." he kisses me again.

"I love you, too." I mumble. He lets his hand linger on mine before he walks out with the spare keys I gave him. I hear him lock the door from here.

…1...

"Katniss are you coming back to work?" Plutarch's eyes are filled with panic and hope.  
"Yes." I frown. "I have to go." I tell Peeta on the phone.  
"Okay, I love you."  
"I love you too." I reply. "Bye."  
"Bye."  
Plutarch isn't normally in the cubicle area.  
"Listen up people." He says. I drop my bag and phone on my desk and sit down I my chair. "The firewall has been hacked and every song recorded has been leaked. A lot of artists are pissed off. You guys are to find the issue in the firewall and fix it. You don't leave until your done." He says.  
"Every song?" Kalyn repeats.  
"Yes." He says.  
"Goodness gracious." Ian shakes his head. Plutarch walks away.  
For the next few hours, the only sound is the clicks of keyboards, the ding of the elevator, an annoyed sigh and the chime of a cell phone  
I search all over the place of any possible problem. We search all over the place. It's noon now and we've got nothing. I sigh sharply in annoyance and a few others do, too. I stop short when I see that someone signed right in and posted all of them.  
How the hell did they get the password? It was 03009974.  
"Is anyone else seeing that the hacker literally just signed right in?" I ask.  
"Yes but how in gods name did they get the password?" Ian asks.  
"I haven't got a clue."  
"Well we have the issue." Kalyn says. "How do we fix it?"  
"Well once they're online they're never coming off. We have to change the password. That's really all we can do."  
Kalyn phones Plutarch who comes down to us. We explain everything.  
"Let's think of a password." He says.  
We're silent for a long time.  
I come up with it and it's a joke and I blurt it out on accident. "Fuck you."  
Every pair of eyes snap onto mine.  
"Excuse me?" Plutarch asks.  
"That should be the password. Nobody would think of that. They're going to expect it to me sophisticated. I know your angry that the firewall was hacked. Let's change the password to fuck you. Who's going to guess that?"  
"She's got a point boss." Ian says.  
I'm stressed and my back is killing me.  
"Alright. The new password is fuck you. Everyone can go home." He walks away.  
...9...  
I don't know the person at the register but I walk right up to him. "May I talk to Peeta?" I ask.  
"He's busy, miss." He says.  
"Can you tell him it's urgent?" I ask.  
He stares at me for a minute. "He's busy." He repeats.  
"Please?" I ask.  
"Okay, but he's going to say no to you." He walks into the kitchen. "BOSS SOME GIRL WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" He shouts.  
I hear Peeta call, "TELL HER I'M BUSY!"  
"I TOLD HER TWO TIMES!" He shouts back. "SHE SOUNDS URGENT! AND STRESSED!"  
I hear silent for a while. "WHAT DOES SHE LOOK LIKE?"  
"DARK HAIR, SKINNY, SHES REALLY HOT, TOO."  
"WHAT COLOR ARE HER EYES?"  
"I DON'T REMEMBER!" He shouts back.  
"ASK HER WHAT HER NAME IS!"  
The guy sticks his head in the front of the bakery. "What's your name?" He asks.  
"Katniss." I smile.  
He disappears. "IT STARTS WITH A K!" He shouts.  
I hear loud, heavy footsteps, like he's running, and Peeta walks into the front of the bakery.  
A large grin spreads across his face. The guy pushes out in front of the bakery. "I thought you were getting married." He says.  
"I was." He says. "But I didn't. Katniss is more important." He walks around the counter and pulls me to the other side. Then, he leads me into the kitchen and upstairs. This must be his office. It's neat and tidy.  
"It's nice in here. I like that the window-" he pins me against the wall and starts kissing me intently. I pull away to look at him.  
"Anyone could come up here." I whisper.  
"They all knock." He whispers hopefully.  
I kiss him.  
...9...  
Weeks pass and we lie together and talk and make out a lot. We go on multiple dates and basically stay together all the time. We haven't slept in the same bed together but we have fallen asleep. Now I'm working. I add another song to another album and them Linda walks off the elevator. "Katniss!" She gushes.  
"Yes?" I stand up.  
"Your boyfriend is just the sweetest!" She says.  
"Um...okay..."  
She walks over to me and she looks so excited. "He just came in." She says.  
"He did?" I ask. I haven't seen him in two days because I have been working and I miss him so much.  
"Yes and he told me to give you this." She hands me a huge vase of flowers. All the girls crowd around me. I set them on the deal and grab the note.  
_Kat,__  
__I'm giving you twelve roses. Eleven on them are real and one of them are fake. I will love you until the last one dies.__  
__-Love, Peeta._  
I could actually start crying. He's so sweet. I'm just reaching for my phone to call him when it lights up with a message.  
Peeta Ryan: _I'm still outside if you have a second..._  
"It's almost four." Linda says. "Just leave."  
"I'm going down there." I grab the vase of flowers.  
He isn't looking at me, he's scrolling through stuff on his phone. All he has on is a white button up shirt and black slacks. His hair is slightly rumpled but it's because of the wind. Why is he dressed up? I set the flowers so on a bench about fifty feet from him and march right over to him, taking his phone and throwing my arms around his neck. He pauses for a moment before his arms wind around my waist and pulls me against him as close as he can get.  
"I've missed you so much." He mumbles in my ear. "I don't like you being away from me."  
We've been dating for about two and a half months now; October sixteenth is our three month anniversary. And we're together all the time. It's October second right now. "I need to tell you something." He kisses me and I start to deepen it but he pulls away.  
"Are you off work?" He asks.  
"Not for like two hours." His face falls. He looks so sad that I feel terrible. "I want to spend the day with you." He whispers.

"I have to work." I whisper. "Why are you dressed like this?" I straighten his tie.

"Because I had a meeting for work today." He explains. "Want to know what it was about?" he asks.

"If you want me to." I reply.

"Well…I want a co-owner." He says.

"Oh." I mumble.

"Want me to tell you who I want it to be?" he asks. I laugh softly.

"Go ahead. You seem excited."

"I want it to be you." he says. "I want you to move in with me and I want you to own my bakery with me."

"Peeta…it doesn't seem right. I'm not a Mellark…and I can't move in with you until we get married."

"Says who?" he asks.

"I think that's what is supposed to happen…look; I need to go back to work. Thank you for the flowers. You're so sweet. I love you." I whisper.

"Don't go." He looks so desperate.

"I have to." I whisper. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. If my boss finds out I'm out here-"

"So what if you get fired. Katniss _please_ don't go. I really, really miss you." he looks like he could cry.

"Peeta…" I wind my arms around his neck. "I have to. I'm sorry. I have to."

"Don't. You don't. You can come work for me. Who cares if you're not a Mellark? None of my employee's except for me are Mellark's. You'll be one someday." He sounds pleading.

"Peeta…" I bite my lip.

"Please? Tell your boss you have a migraine." He begs. "I need to see you. I never get to see you during the day. We don't get to spend full days together."

"Peeta I can't." I put my foot down. "I have to work."

He sighs. "Can I see you later?" he begs. "Call me when you get off?"

I nod. "Okay," I kiss him goodbye, pick up my flowers and walk back into the building.


	9. Chapter 9

I feel terrible. I am pacing my apartment at two in the morning, crying my eyes out.

I got off work and then my phone died. I came home and ended up falling asleep. When I woke about an hour ago I saw messages from Peeta.

I had three missed called and six texts.

Peeta Ryan 6:12 : hey baby girl, am I still going to get to see my beautiful girlfriend today?

Peeta Ryan 6:57 : Kat?

Peeta Ryan 7:56 : your mad at me because I was being a jerk earlier.

Peeta Ryan 8:13 : I'm sorry.

Peeta Ryan 9:11 : please talk to me.

Peeta Ryan 12:18 : I love you...

My tears won't stop. I feel horrid. He isn't answering the phone, either.

I can't stay here. I grab my keys and wallet and phone and walk out of the apartment. I sob my way to Peeta's house and park in the driveway. I walk up to the door and knock.

No answer.

Fine then. I get out my key he made me, unlock the door and drop my stuff on the couch, racing me way, crying up the stairs. He's sleeping in his bed. I can't stop crying. I walk over to the other side and crawl onto the bed. When he feels movement, he sighs and rolls over. Then his entire body tenses and he rolls over to face me. "Katniss?" He sounds panicked. "What happened?" His voice is deep with sleep. He sits up and pulls me into a hug.

"I-I am so sorry!" I sob. "I f-fell asleep and my phone was dead and I woke up at midnight and I feel horrid and I can't stop crying!"

"Shh, shh," He wipes my tears away. "It's okay." He pulls me again him and runs his fingers through my back. "Calm down baby girl, your going to make yourself sick. You should be asleep. Why are you awake?"

"I can't s-sleep!" I choke. He lays down and pulls me down with him.

"Don't cry." He whispers.

The room is silent as I finish crying, and after a moment or two, I speak.

"I should get going, I just had to-"

"Don't go." He whispers. "Sleep with me."

"Peeta, I have work in the morning and-." He sighs angrily.

"Katniss, please!" He moans. "Quit your job! I can't take it anymore! I just want to be able to see you every day! We only get to see each other when you get home from work and it's not fair!" He looks really distraught about this. "I can't stand a second away from you! Quit your job!"

"I don't know..." I bite my lip. "I want to be with you away day, all the time, but I don't want to be moving too fast." He sits up suddenly and pushes me down flat on the bed. Then, he throws his waist over my side.

"You listen to me Katniss Joy." He whispers. "I love you and you love me, right?"

"Right." I reach my hands up to touch him but he pins them above my head.

"If we're in love then I think we're moving too slow." He leans down so his lips are almost on mine. "Don't you agree?" I begin squirming and every time I try to kiss him he moves back. A small smile is appearing on his lips. "Do you agree, Katniss Joy?" He asks.

"Peeta," I moan.

PEETA'S POV

I just want her to answer the question. She's adorable though. She's squirming and she looks frustrated and starved. "If you answer the question we can make out." I reason. She let's out a long breath.

"Yes, I agree!" She so cute and innocent. I don't release her, though. I just wait for her to start complaining.

I know normally it's annoying when someone whines but Katniss Joy never complains, and when she does, which is hardly ever, it is absolutely adorable. I plant a soft kiss on her neck and grin when she moans. "Peeta!" She whines. My grin spreads.

"Yes?" I ask calmly.

"Let go of me!" She whines again. "I want to make out and I can't do it unless you let go of me."

"Hang on," I mumble. She moans loudly again. "Alright, alright. Your so cute when you whine." I release her wrists and she locks our lips and starts kissing me with such and extreme intensity that I have to shut my eyes to keep the world from spinning.

I pull away and start peppering kisses all over her.

KATNISS'S POV

I can't even think straight. I'm hornier than I was that night I had that dream. I can tell he is, too. He's nipping and sucking and kissing all over my neck.

I know right then and there that I will never forget the look of pure love and desire in his blue eyes.

...0...

I sigh and run my fingers angrily through my hair for what must be the billionth time.

It's November nineteenth and even though it's been more than a month since that n night at Peeta's, all I can think of is his lips.

"Quit your job..." He whispered.

"Your so beautiful."

"I love you."

The way his lips press against mine, against my neck...near my chest

I shiver again and eye my car keys. I grab my phone and text Peeta.

Me: your killing me."

Peeta Ryan: what did I do?

Me: I can't think straight. All I can think of is you!

Peeta Ryan: if you quit your job...

He doesn't finish the sentence.

I don't answer him.

It's only noon. It's been snowing again and on the twenty first, Peeta and I are going to Paris for nearly two months. My family is coming on the twenty second.

"You are so beautiful..."

I shut down my computer and start grabbing everything that belongs to me. Then I shut down my computer and walk to the elevator and down to my car.

He informed me yesterday casually that he's skipping work today.

I find myself speeding. I get pulled over and I get a ticket, which makes me angry because this is the first time I've been pulled over. I drive to Peeta's house and see an unknown car in the driveway.

I leave everything but my phone and keys in the car, lock the door and decide to knock because whoever it is, I want to be prepared. I hear Peeta sounding pissed off, and whoever it is, he's arguing. The door is ripped open and he doesn't say a word as he pulls me into the house.

"Oh, so this is your whore then?" It's Delly.

This shows we are complete opposites. I am in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket, and even though it's really cold outside, she's wearing a short leather skirt and a skin tight tank top that her boobs don't fit in with a thin sweater and wedges.

That isn't even appropriate to be walking around in, especially in public. "Katniss isn't a whore." Peeta's livid and I don't like him like this. "Get out right now or I'm calling the police." He opens the door again.

Since I'm in a bad mood from getting pulled over and now finding she's in my boyfriend house trying to start stuff, I can't help but mutter "And put some clothes on." as she walks out the door. She whips around to say something, but Peeta snatches the key from her hand and slams the door in her face and locks it.

"I need to go calm down…just…do whatever you want, but don't bother me please." His voice is rough and angry. He pauses and kisses me, and then he walks away.

…a….

"I'm so sorry." His fingers move through my hair and his lips press against my forehead, waking me.

"For what?" I mumble, but it comes out as 'eor ehwt'

"What?" he asks.

"I said for what?" I ask.

"For leaving you down here long enough to make you fall asleep." He looks at the clock. "You shouldn't be off work for another three hours." I roll over and bury my head in the couch. He sits down on the floor and rubs my back.

"god, I fucked up." I groan.

"Why?" he asks.

"I took everything and left. I'm not going back. I didn't quit but I'm not going back."

"Why did you mess up, then?" he stands up and lifts me into his arms. "How?" he asks.

"Because I just…I don't know what to do now."

"Katniss I _told _you I'm letting you work at the bakery and I'm paying you better." He says.

"I guess…I don't have to worry." I sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

"Vol pour Paris, la France, l'atterrissage maintenant." The voice over the intercom sounds. (Flight to Paris, France, now boarding.)

My hands playing flappy bird freeze and begin trembling.

"Katniss," Peeta holds both of my wrists. "Don't worry. They're going to love you." He insists.

When we walk out of the airport, I'm struck at how beautiful Paris is. Everyone is dressed their age and couples are holding hands and talking and laughing.

This really is the city of love.

Peeta and I find ourselves molding right in with everyone. We talk in English and everyone is uncomfortable around us.

Peeta informs me that his family normally speaks in French around the house but they're going to speak in English for my family. "Oh they don't have to do that." I say.

"Well they are." He says. I notice he has my luggage. I make a grab for it as he opens the door to a place and walks inside.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Not letting you overwork yourself." He says.

"Aw come on." I reach for it again but he pulls away.

"Nope." He let's the door slam shut, a bell rings, and then he kisses me. He pulls away and tucks a lock of hair fallen from my braid behind my ear. "I'm not letting you carry anything." He smiles and I smile back.

"Fine." I kiss his cheek.

"Let's go." He takes my hand and leads me through the door. We must be in the bakery where he grew up. Nobody is here and I'm guessing it's closed. He leaves our luggage down here and peers out the window. "I think we're late. Everyone is here."

"Who's everyone?" I ask.

"My whole family. Aunt and uncle and cousins and both sets of grandparents..."

"That's a lot of people." I mumble.

One thing is even though I'm respectful to people I'm extremely shy when it comes to meet new people. "Let's go." He links our fingers. I'm wearing black skinny jeans with a long sleeve light blue jean button down shirt with the front tucked in, combat boots and a maroon scarf. My hair is in my usual braid. He leads me up the stairs and I can hear voices and laughter. I tighten my grip on his hand. He pecks my lips. "Don't be nervous." He barely whispers in my ear. Then he reaches over and opens the door, pulling me into a neat and tidy living room. There is a chandelier in the middle of the ceiling and a flat screen TV plastered on the wall. There is a brown couch beneath the TV and one directly across from it and one on the side. In the middle there is a mahogany wooden coffee table with a black rug beneath it. There is a hallway off to the left and another one off to the right. I can't see which is which. Directly in front of me there is a painting of Paris and beneath it it says "No family is perfect...we argue, we fight. We even stop talking to each other at times, but I'm the end, family is family...the love will always be there."

I love that quote. Peeta squeezes my hand and I snap my eyes up to his.

Nobody has even noticed us, they're just talking. I notice that it's in English. Peeta turns and opens the door and slams it again. Every set of eyes snaps onto us and the house drifts into silence. My hand trembles and Peeta holds it tighter.

"Peet! Bro! God you've got yourself a model or something!" A boy who looks like Peeta but taller with short hair and a different shade of blue stands up and, and instead of hugging his brother or shaking his hand, he walks right to me, plants a kiss on my cheek and throw his arm around my shoulder. "Well damn! You are quite sexy!"

"Katniss," Peeta pulls me out of this boy's distance and wipes away the kiss. "This is my brother, Rye. He is twenty five. Rye, this is my girlfriend, Katniss." I notice the way he says "my" by saying that he isn't allowed to kiss me again."

"Nice to meet you Katniss. I'm going to call you Kat." He sticks his hand out. "Or sexy, or beautiful, or my wish."

I can't help it. "Or you can just call me Kat or Katniss." I say.

I'm surprised, really, when everyone, including him and Peeta start laughing. I smile and a man that looks like an older Peeta with short blond hair stands up and hugs Peeta and sticks his hand out my me.

"Hello Katniss, I'm Daniel, Peeta's father."

"It is lovely to meet you." I shake his hand.

He looks actually shocked. I notice the way his eyes grow slightly larger, his jaw opens in shock, his eyebrows rise and he looks at Peeta. "I wasn't expect you to say that." He says.

Did I say something wrong?

I begin to panic, and Peeta squeezes my hand reassuringly. "I mean...Delly is so..." He trails off.

"A bitch?" Peeta says.

"Yes...and your so sweet and kind and beautiful and you..." He looks me up and down. "Dress like it's winter."

Peeta starts laughing for some reason. "You guys are going to get a kick out of this." He says. "So Katniss was a work and she came to my house. Delly showed up and we were fighting. When Katniss got there I forced her to leave. She had on her usual clothes and as she was walking out the door-" he gasps, struggling to catch his breath. "She told her to put some clothes on!"

Why did he just tell them that?

They start laughing and introducing themselves.

There is a little girl with blond straight hair and green eyes. She is the last person for me to meet. She scrambles off the couch and walks over to me. She has on a pink dress and she's adorable. "Up!" She holds her arms up to me.

I love kids so much. I don't hesitate to grab her under her armpits and pick her up. "I'm Audrey! I'm four!" She grins.

"Hi Audrey." I smile. Peeta shows me around the house and into the room we will be staying in. Then he orders me to stay where I am has he disappears. He comes back two minutes later with our luggage.

"My two cousins and my brother aren't here yet. My brother lives in Brittany, actually. He's driving here. Oh and my cousins, Justice and Kegan, they're coming. They're coming over right now."

He nuzzles my shoulder and kisses, and then kisses my lips. Then he whispers, "My mom is going to think we've having sex." He opens the door, kisses me again and walks out of the door, pulling me with him. He sits down and pulls me down next to him.

"So, Katniss." Mrs. Mellark begins. "How old are you?"

"I turned twenty three on May eighth." I answer. She nods.

She starts asking questions. "What do you do for a living?"

"I worked at a recording company, but someone," I look at Peeta. "Begged me since July to quit my job."

"Peeta Ryan!" Mrs. Mellark scolds. Peeta shoots me a look saying 'your gonna get it' and then he sighs.

"Mom I never got to see her because she worked nonstop without breaks from six to six and it wasn't fair because I love her and when I don't get to see her I get sad so I begged her to quit her job so she can work with me!" He rants.

"I love you too." I mumble. He pecks my lips six times before kissing my cheek and pulling away.

Everyone is smiling. "What is your nationality?" His mom asks.

"I'm not sure...all I know is I'm really French..." I shrug.

"Really?" She looks surprised.

"Yeah I can speak fluent French. My mom actually grew up in Brittany."

"Wow! Peeta, why didn't you mention that?" Mrs. Mellark asks.

He shrugs. "I don't know."

"Are you a virgin?" She asks.

"Mom!" Peeta says.

"What? Peeta your not supposed to be having sex until your married." She says.

"No I-I'm not...I'm not supposed to have sex till marriage either-"

"So you did anyways?" She asks.

"I um...I just..." I begin to panic. Peeta takes both my hands.

"I was raped." I mumble.

"Oh goodness!" His mother puts her hand over her heart. "You poor girl! I am so sorry for asking, that was none of my business-"

"It's okay..."

"No it's not okay." Peeta's angry. "That wasn't your place to ask."

"Peeta stop." I mumble. He probably doesn't hear me.

"You shouldn't have asked her that!"

"Peeta stop. She is your mother and your being rude." I drop his hands.

He drifts into silence. "I'm sorry mom." Peeta says.

His mom is silent for a while. "I like her. You better not let her go. If she's your wife, maybe she'll whip you into shape. And if she's the mother of my grand babies, then we don't have to worry about them being disobedient."

Everyone begins to make small talk and Peeta and I start playing flappy bird together.

A boy with blond hair, a bit longer than Rye's but shorter than Peeta's, with another shade of blue eyes bursts into the house. Peeta's Aunt Portia and Uncle Cinna must be the parents of the boy who looks to be eighteen with dark skin and short hair. I notice his left eyebrow is shaved in three parts. His black hair is short and he has a black hat on backwards. His outfit screams gang member but I know he isn't. There is one more boy; he has very curly blond/brown hair and brown eyes.

"Sorry we're late!" the boy with dark skin exclaims.

My bird dies one tunnel before I get to my goal and I sigh sharply. Peeta places his hand on my knee. "Just relax. It's not that hard." He says.

"HOLY SHIT!" The guy that I am assuming is Peeta's brother shouts. Everyone looks at him in confusion. He turns to Peeta. "Putain de merde, elle est votre amie? Merde Peet, si j'étais vous, je n'attendrais pas à obtenir ses maudits vêtements. J'ai regardé du porno, mais oh putain elle est comme un secret modèle de défilé de mode de Victoria. Elle baise magnifique. Quelle est sa taille de soutien-gorge? Êtes-vous renifler sa culotte? Je sais que je l'ai vu au mariage mais ... merde, je ne souffle la chaleur dans ma putain de maison jusqu'à ce qu'elle est si chaude qu'elle a à strip-tease. Un conseil bro, jouer avec ses seins." (Holy shit, is she your girlfriend? Damn Peet, if I were you, I wouldn't wait to get her damn clothes off. I've watched porn, but oh fuck she is like a Victoria secret fashion show model. She's fucking gorgeous. What's her bra size? Do you sniff her panties? I know I saw her at the wedding but...shit, I would blast the heat in my damn house till she's so hot she has to strip nude. Word of advice bro, play with her tits.)

Peeta stares at his brother for a long time, and then he bursts out laughing. "Oui Graham, Katniss est ma petite amie." (Yes Graham, Katniss is my girlfriend.)

Graham turns to me. "Well hello there beautiful, I'm Peeta's brother, Graham." He says.

I decide to completely embarrass the shit out of him, simply because I have to. I stand up and shake his extended hand and say, "Ravi de vous rencontrer Graham. Juste vous faire savoir, je peux parler couramment le français." (Nice to meet you Graham. Just letting you know, I can speak fluent French.)

His entire face and neck goes completely red and he drops my hand and steps back, looking at Peeta. "Why didn't you stop me?" he shouts.

"Because I needed a good laugh,"

"Well do you know her bra size though?" Graham asks.

"No." Peeta says.

"You're slacking." The boy with dark skin shakes his head.

Then so quickly, he darts forward and kisses me right on the lips. "Justice, what the fuck!" Peeta lunges at him and everyone shrieks as the two of them start fist fighting.

I'm not that upset that he kissed me, I'm pissed at the way Peeta is reacting.

I think back to after Cato raped me. Dad taught me to fight and break up fights.

"_Just remember Kitten, it doesn't hurt when you get hit. If you tell yourself that, you're invincible." _

The town found out I was raped and a guy came up to me and confronted me.

Finnick nearly put the kid in the coma and everyone was surrounded. I broke it up and I was so angry at Finnick that I punched him.

He's never fought again.

"Stop it!" Portia shrieks.

My vision is slightly red on the edges. Peeta is on top of the fight. I lunge forward and shove him off. I'm so angry that everyone can tell. My hands are clenched in fists and I'm glaring at Peeta. "What the hell did I do?" he snaps.

I grab his wrist and pull him downstairs, slamming the door behind him. I lead him to the front of the bakery before rounding on him. "What the hell was that?" I shout.

"What are you talking about? He fucking kissed you!"

"I don't care! That's your cousin! You don't fight with family! That's not right! I'm still your girlfriend! He kissing me doesn't have anything to do with us! I get it pissed you off, but you don't go fighting people like that! Especially not your cousin!"

He exhales sharply and paces around the bakery in silence. "You're right, I'm sorry." He says.

"It's not me you need to apologize to." I cross my arms.

"I still need to apologize to you for arguing." He says. "And I'm sorry." I kiss him roughly.

"Don't do it again. When I first was taught to fight I had to break a fight up between Finnick and some guy and I punched Finn because I was pissed off."

"Well I'll be extra careful then." He takes my hand and pulls me back upstairs. He goes to sit down but I clear my throat loudly, and when our eyes lock, I arch my eyebrows. He sighs and walks over to Justice. "Sorry. Don't touch my girlfriend and we'll be alright." He says.

"Fair enough. I'm sorry too." They guy hug and then everything is back to normal.

My phone starts ringing. It must be in the couch. I reach in and grab it and see _Mama_ as the caller. "Hey Mama." I say after answering.

"Hey honey." She says. I can hear her smile. "Listen, we're in the airport in Paris…where do we go?"

"Wait, I thought you guys were coming tomorrow?" I ask.

Mama is silent for a while. "Katniss you told us to come on the twentieth!" she says.

"No, I said Peeta and I were coming on the twentieth and you guys were coming on the twenty first."

"Katniss if they're here now it's not a big deal. We'll just give them directions."

"Katniss…" She sighs, stressed out.

"Okay Mama, it's fine." I say.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Tell Brainless I said she's a total fuck up." Johanna says.

"Why would I tell her that?" Mom asks in the background.

"Because it's funny."

"I'm not telling her that." Mom says.

I give her directions and a few minutes later she texts me.

Mama: _the sign says closed. _

I stand up. "I'll be back in two seconds." I say. I go downstairs, and Peeta follows me, snatching my hand in his own.

The next ten minutes are filled with introducing and laughter and talking.

"Hey Kat?" Kegan, the other guy that came in with Justice and Graham asks.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Come here a second." He's sitting on the other couch next to the arm on his laptop. I walk over to him and sit down on the arm. "Is this the recording studio you worked at?" he asks.

_Plutarch's recording firewalls get hacked: A mystery singer with the voice of an angel records the song __Enchanted by Taylor Swift__ and the world is struck at this beautiful voice. _

"Uh yeah, that's the one." I say.

"Did you know the firewalls got hacked?" he asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"What is it?" Peeta asks.

"Read it out loud." Aunt Annabella requests.

"Plutarch's recording firewalls get hacked: A mystery singer with the voice of an angel records the song Enchanted by Taylor Swift and the world is struck at this beautiful voice."

"Is that all it says?" Finn narrows his eyes.

"This girl has the voice of a saint. In the song (listed below) she hits every high note on spot and she hardly used any auto-tune. The world is in love with this girl and everyone is dying to know who the mystery girl with the voice of a god is. As a matter of fact, this Friday, November twenty first, Good Morning America will be having a concert in Times Square and every girl that has recorded a song inj Plutarch's recordings is allowed to join and sing the song so we can see who sang the song. If the wrong girl is there, we will be moving all around the world. The winning girl with be offered a record label with Warner Bros and an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres show."

"They said the song is listed below. Play it." Peeta says. Kegan scrolls downward.

"Kitty that's the same song you recorded at the same studio." Finn says. "For the wedding,"

"I know, but there's no way it's me. I'm not that good."

"We hardly used any auto tune." He reminds me.

"But it's not me." I insist.

Kegan plays the song.

The girl starts singing and I swear to god, I almost pass out.

Because it is me.

"Well..." Mrs. Mellark speaks up when the song is over. "It looks like we're going to New York City."


	11. Chapter 11

My heart is pounding in my chest. We got here late because we overslept and I am the last person to go. Everyone that has sang have been good but not good enough.

One person is going now and then I'm next up.

The crowd doesn't make a noise, all of them are straining to hear the singer.

"Last up," the Good Morning America person sighs. "Come on out." My family is out there somewhere. That's what I keep telling myself. I walk up onto the stage, and since I've always wanted to be famous, I'm excited and nervous.

There are so many people lined down the street. I can see Jake and Kate watching from the window of Starbucks and they start hitting each other. I actually wave at them and they wave back. There are cameras all over me. "What is your full name?" The guy asks.

"Katniss Joy Everdeen." I say into the microphone.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty three."

"Well your last. Let's hope we saved the best for last." He sighs and I can tell he's tired of hearing the same song over and over. Everyone in the crowd all looks bored and I notice that not many people are paying attention.

"YOUR REALLY CUTE!" A guy shouts. I laugh.

"Thank you." I reply.

"ARE YOU SINGLE?"

"No...sorry." I shake my head.

He doesn't say anything else.

After a few moments, I hear enchanted starting to play behind me.

I wait until the right moment and see people starting to leave. Nobody has screamed for a single person yet.

Then the time to sing come.

There I was again tonight

Forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired lonely place

Walls of insincerity,

Shifting eyes and vacancy

Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

Screams. Screaming everywhere. People crying, shouts of people saying "it's her!" And cameras go wild, cameras flashing.

Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"

Across the room your silhouette

Starts to make its way to me

The playful conversation starts

Counter all your quick remarks

Like passing notes in secrecy

And it was enchanting to meet you

All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

People that we're leaving have stopped and people are coming out of their shops and I can see a lot of people sobbing their eyes out.

The lingering question kept me up

2 AM, who do you love?

I wonder 'til I'm wide awake

And now I'm pacing back and forth

Wishing you were at my door

I'd open up and you would say, "Hey,

It was enchanting to meet you,

All I know is I was enchanted to meet you."

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

Crazy screams all over the place and people are trying to run to the stage. Security guards have to come out.

This is me praying that

This was the very first page

Not where the story line ends

My thoughts will echo your name

Until I see you again

These are the words I held back

As I was leaving too soon

I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else

Please don't have somebody waiting on you

Please don't be in love with someone else

Please don't have somebody waiting on you

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't be in love with someone else

Please don't have somebody waiting on you

The entire place falls into a hush. Everyone is silent, including the guy from good morning America. "Well..." He trails off. "Your the girl."

I shrug. "Yeah..."

"I am dying to know why you recorded the song but I have been instructed by Ellen herself not to ask you any questions aside from your name and age."

I remain silent. "But I a supposed to ask if you wrote that song because you relate."

"Yes uh...I relate..."

"Well then if you uh...if you got the guy your supposed to bring him on the show with you."

"Um..." I bite my lip. "Okay."

People plead for me to come back as I walk off the stage. All the Mellark's and my family is there.

That was terrifying. "Now to California!" Effie says. Peeta envelops me in his arms

The stage must have been on a bus, because it drives away.

And then I'm facing the entire crowd.

And I scream when they run for me.

Oh shit. I dig in Peeta's pocket for the keys and take off, running down streets and waving through cars as screaming people chase me. I don't go to Peeta's house even though it's closer, instead, I go to my apartment and lock the door behind me. I close the blinds and grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and a bra and panties and then I go and take a long shower. A shower so long that Peeta comes to check on me. I didn't realize I've been in for an hour and a half. I get out, put my hair in a bun and get dress. Then I walk out of the bathroom and fall down on my bed. "Is this where you live?" Kegan asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"It's small."

"Well I don't have much money." I reply.

"Not for long." Haymitch says. "You have a record label. You can make an album. For just signing with a record label you make two million, and for being on Ellen, you make two million."

"But that means moving to California and I..." I start crying. "I don't know if I want to do that! I'm scared, okay! What if Cato finds out where I live! I don't want to be away from Peeta and Finnick and Johanna and Gale and I'm scared of Cato!" I roll over and bury my face in my pillows. I hear the sound of running and then air whiz past me and then someone literally lands next to me on the bed. I feel Peeta's warm fingers on my sides, pulling me into his lap. "Listen Katniss, listen to me." he runs his fingers through my hair. "I'm going to move to California with you." Jo, Finn all say 'ditto'. "And if Cato finds you I'll kick his ass."

"I don't want to be the type of girl that makes you do everything she wants!"

"That's Delly Katniss, not you. I'm doing this because I want to, not because you want me to." He slips his hands under my shirt and rubs my back. "You have no reason to be upset. Cato will never touch you again, and Finn, Jo and I are moving with you, okay?"

"But every place in California is expensive!"

"Let's move in together." He says.

Both mom and Mrs. Mellark start protesting.

"We won't have sex! The rule is we can't have sex until marriage! There was nothing said about living together." He says.

"He's right." Mom grumbles.

"Katniss together, you and I can afford a place." He says.

"And Daniel and I can pay for Johanna and Finnick to get their own places." Mrs. Mellark says.

I still can't stop crying. "Okay." Peeta decides. "Your jet lagged. We all are." He lays me down and lays down with me and then holds me as I cry myself to sleep.

...9...

I wake up to movement and loud noise. I mewl softly and bury my head in what I am laying on, tightening my legs around what they're wrapped around. I hear a choke noise and then hands on my ankles. I open my eyes and see we're in the plane that Peeta's family owns and my legs are on Peeta's shoulder. I was burying my head in my Mom's legs and I was choking my boyfriend. "What time is it?" I sigh.

"Three in the morning. We land in two hours and we'll have to leave immediately for Ellen that the both of you are going on." Haymitch says.

"I just want to sleep!" I whine.

"Sleep." Peeta tosses me my phone and my earbuds and I pop them in and play some music.

I fall asleep again.

...9...

The nap lasted about fifteen minutes before I was awake. Now I'm getting a bit of makeup on by Peeta's Uncle Cinna and I'm in a red knee length loose dress, my hair has been curled and left down and I have on a tiny bit of makeup. I put the black wedges on that Cinna puts me in and then walk out to greet Peeta. He looks me up and down.

"Now let's cut to the chase, because I'm just excited as you all are." Ellen begins.

"Don't let me fall." I beg.

"I've got you." He links out fingers. "You look beautiful, as always." He kisses me. Cinna goes out to the crowd and I tune back in.

"So here is Katniss Joy Everdeen and her boyfriend!" A security guard rushes us forward and Peeta walks calmly up the stairs, pulling me with him. He keeps his hand in my own as we walk out to the stage.

People cheer and whistle and shout my name. Ellen hugs both of us and then we sit down in a love seat. "So..." Ellen trails off. "What's your name?" She's asking Peeta.

"Peeta Mellark." He smiles. She nods her head.

"So the world loves you." Ellen says to me.

"Yes...I guess." I reply.

"You guess?" She asks.

"I wasn't expecting all of this." My voice is high because I'm nervous and tired. She laughs.

"Well your voice really is just stunning." She says.

"Oh, thank you." I say. People cheer and I thank the crowd, too.

"So you said in New York City that you could relate to the song..."

"Yes."

Then Peeta and I tell our story, interrupting each other.

"And now it will be a year you two have been in a relationship?"

"Well yes but not a relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"Not like a relationship like this." I kiss Peeta. "But one like just friends. On the eleventh I think it will be five months or four months we've been dating."

"You two act like you've been dating for years."

"Is that a good thing?" I ask.

"Yes." Ellen says.

…..a…

Prim shuts the door. It's only noon and we are in our hotel room with the rest of the family. I have a headache, my back hurts, and my stomach, everyone is too loud and I can't fucking concentrate on my goddamn game.

Just to sum it up, I'm in a bad mood.

Prim left the door halfway open which is a major pet-peeve of mine. I glare at the partly open door.

"What's wrong?" Peeta goes to kiss my cheek but I scoot away from him.

"Leave me the hell alone!" I snap. His face falls. "I don't want you anymore! I'm breaking up with you!" He looks panicked. The whole room is silent now.

"Katniss?" Finnick asks.

"Just leave me alone!" I die in my damn game and peg my phone off the balcony of the fifteenth floor and storm out of the hotel room.

I'm on my period so I'm just in a pissy mood. I speed around the city for a while and then settle on the beach.

…a…

It's five in the afternoon. I've calmed down enough to get myself a phone. I go right back to the beach and sit down.

Hours of watching the ocean passes and before I know it, it's two thirty. A nearby bar is playing a song.

_I never felt nothing in the world like this before, (no)_

_Now I'm missing you and I'm wishing you would come back through my door. (yeah, oooh)_

_Why did you have to go? (go)_

_You could have let me know, (know)_

_So now I'm all alone. (ouuuu) _

_Girl, you could have stayed_

_But you wouldn't give me a chance._

_With you not around, it's a little bit more than I can stand. (ooooh)_

_And all my tears they_

_Keep running down my face. (face)_

_Why did you turn away?_

_So why does your pride make you run and hide?_

_Are you that afraid of me? _

_But I know it's a lie what you keep inside,_

_This is not how you want it to be._

_So, baby, I will wait for you._

_'Cause I don't know what else I can do._

_Don't tell me I ran out of time._

_If it takes the rest of my life,_

_Baby, I will wait for you._

_If you think I'm fine, it just aint true._

_I really need you in my life._

_No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you._

_It's been a long time since you called me._

_(How could you forget about me?)_

_You gotta be feeling crazy. (crazy) Ooooh._

_How can you walk away? (away)_

_Everything stays the same, (the same)_

_I just can't do it, baby. (nooo)_

_What will it take to make you come back? (ohhh)_

_Girl, I told you what it is and it just ain't like that. (nono)_

_Why can't you look at me? (me)_

_You're still in love with me. (me)_

_Don't leave me crying._

_Baby, why can't we just- just start over again?_

_Get it back to the way it was._

_If you give me a chance, I can love you right._

_But you're telling me it won't be enough._

_So, baby, I will wait for you._

_'Cause I don't know what else I can do._

_Don't tell me I ran out of time._

_If it takes the rest of my life,_

_Baby, I will wait for you._

_If you think I'm fine, it just ain't true._

_I really need you in my life,_

_No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you._

_So why does your pride make you run and hide?_

_Are you that afraid of me?_

_But I know it's a lie what you're keeping inside._

_That is not how you want it to be._

_Baby, I will wait for you._

_(for you) Oooooh._

_Baby, I will wait for you._

_If it's the last thing I do,_

_Baby, I will wait for you,_

_'Cause I don't know what else I can do._

_Don't tell me I ran out of time._

_If it takes the rest of my life,_

_Baby, I will wait for you._

_If you think I'm fine, it just ain't true._

_I really need you in my life,_

_No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you._

_I'll be waiting._

"_I don't want you anymore! I'm breaking up with you!" _

Oh my god, please tell me I'm imagining saying that!

But I know I'm not. The pain in his eyes is too real to be fake.

In an instant, I'm on my feet, grabbing what little I brought with me. I shove everything in my car and break the law on the way to the hotel. I rush up the elevator and wait impatiently for the doors to open. I can hear loud voices through the closed door and when I open it, all the families are fighting.

"She is a jerk for doing that to my brother!" Rye argues with Prim.

"Your brother is a jerk for upsetting her!"

They're literally screaming at each other. Peeta, I notice, is staying out of it. He's on the balcony with his head down and I swear to god I think he's crying. I walk past everyone, unnoticed and out onto the balcony, shutting the door behind me.

"Go away." He mutters. I don't though. I stay behind him. He's holding onto the railing. "I said go!" he whips around and his eyes are bloodshot, from tiredness or crying I can't tell. "What do you want?" he asks.

"To apologize…I was…I didn't mean it, Peeta. I'm in a bad mood and my entire body hurts and that game…" I take a deep breath. "Look…I was stupid, and I know it, but I love you and I didn't mean it. I'm really sorry…really, really sorry. I fucked up big time and I didn't mean it and I'm sorry because I just made the biggest mistake of my life and I'm sorry because I'm-"

"Sorry really is your favorite word." He whispers, looking over my shoulder. He sighs sharply. "Our families hate each other. And they're staring at us." tears start sliding down my cheeks.

"I really messed up. God, I destroy everything!"

"No you don't." he says.

"Yes I do Peeta. You need to go back to Delly or something, I make everything worse-"

"Don't say that!" he looks angry. "Don't even say her name! I don't love her! I love you!"

"But she treats you right-"

"No she doesn't!"

"Well I don't either, I'm-"

"You treat me a hell of a lot better than she ever did!" he says. I realize that he is really sexy when he is angry.

"Well I don't treat you as good as I want to! I got pissed off and broke up with you! And Delly is prettier than I am anyways, she's-"

I'm pulled out of the way all the sudden, so the family can't see us. He pins me against the wall. "Let's just _stop_ fighting." he says. "You are forgiven, Delly is a bitch. Let's move on." He kisses me softly on the lips.


	12. Chapter 12

The fighting stopped and everything went back to normal. We're sort of hanging out in California and Peeta and I keep trying to find a place to make out but every time we find somewhere, someone finds us. We're sitting in a corner of the hotel room. He's drawing and I'm nestled in between his legs. He flips the page in the middle of his drawing.

_We need to find a place so I can kiss you. _

I take the pencil from his hand.

_You can kiss me here. _

_No I can't. not how I want to. _

_Oh…_

I look up to see nobody is paying attention.

_Let's go get another hotel room._

_Just so we can make out? that's stupid and a waste of money. _

_I have two million. _

_Still..._

_Fine, I'm going to the store though. _

PEETA'S POV

"Kat's been gone for a while." I say, flipping my sketch book closed as the anxiety I've been holding back beings to escape.

"I know…" Finnick sighs. It's five at night and she left at noon.

I'm just grabbing my phone to call her when Mrs. Everdeen hangs up her phone. "She got into a car accident." She whispers. She starts crying. We remain silent, waiting for her to continue. "She drove right off a cliff of accident…and she's in the hospital…in a coma…she has stitches up her arm to her shoulder, she cracked her head open and she's broken her left arm and her right leg. They don't know if she's going to wake up."

It takes a minute for us to get out of the hotel. "She totaled her car and if she hadn't fallen out of her windshield and into the river she would have been dead. Some little girl saw her and her family pulled her out."

I have never driven faster in my whole life.

…..a…..

She looks horrible. The only thing that shows any life in her is the quiet and annoying beeping of the machine and the rise and fall of her chest.

Nobody objects when I take the seat next to her.

This can't be happening. Not my girl, not _my girl._

I feel shattered and broken. She's dead to the world and doesn't move, just her chest. Her hands are cold and it physically pains me to think that the only thing keeping her alive right now is the machine.

What happens if the power goes out?

I begin to panic. "What happens if the power goes out?" I ask.

"Simple. They have generators. She'll stay alive until they pull the plug."

"They're not pulling the fucking plug. I'll rob a bank if I have to." I hiss. A doctor walks into the room.

"If we give you ten million dollars, will you promise never to pull the plug?" Mom asks.

The doctor looks shocked. "Um…" he hesitates. "Okay."

"Great." Mom walks away.

_Katniss Joy, my girl…she can't be in a coma, can she? _

I stare at her lifeless form.

This is going to rip me slowly into shreds.


	13. Chapter 13

"Peeta…son…" Dad takes a deep breath. It's late February, and I my baby girl isn't waking. It's been three months since I saw her beautiful eyes or her radiant smile or her flawless laughter and breathtaking voice. She's got the casts off and the stitches out and she looks fine but she isn't waking up. "Maybe…you should think about…what happens if she _doesn't_ wake up." He says carefully.

"That won't happen. She's going to wake up." I insist.

"Peeta it's been three months." Mrs. Everdeen whispers. "We need to think of all the possibilities."

"It's impossible for her to not wake up! She's going to wake up! Fuck all of you for losing hope!"

"Peet," Finnick looks just as bad as I do. "We need to think." He throws his arm around my shoulder. "If you think of all the horrible things she's done to people, it makes you feel better about her possibly dying." He says.

"I'll kill you." I hiss. Haymitch got Kat and I a place and I haven't even bothered to leave to go look at it. I shower here, I eat here…

"Peet if Kat wakes up and see's you look like shit she's going to send you off and you know it." Rye says. "Go clean yourself up, man."

I look to Katniss in pain and sigh. "If I miss anything and you guys don't tell me I'll kill one of you."

…a…

"Look," The doctor walks into the room. It's May, three days before her twenty forth birthday. "I hate this but I'm actually being forced. If she doesn't wake up by tonight, we have to pull the plug."

"No!" I shout at him.

"I'm sorry." He says.

"We gave you ten million dollars, you asshole!" Mom screams at him.

"I'm sorry! It's out of my control." He says.

"Fuck you!" Johanna screams.

"You guys are so loud!" a soft, barely audible voice sounds. Every head snaps toward the bed. Her arm has moved to her stomach.

"Oh my god!" I put my hand over my heart in surprise.

"What?" she whispers. She looks around the room. Everyone is just staring at her in shock. "Would someone please tell me-"

"Your birthday is in three days." I blurt.

She's silent for a while. "It's May fifth?" she whispers. I sit down in the shitty plastic chair that has been mine for months.

"Yes." I take her hands. She starts crying.

"Was I dead?" she asks. Her heart monitor starts going crazy.

"No, you were in a coma…because you drove off a cliff…"

"Oh…" I wipe her tears away. "Yeah I dropped my phone on the floor and I was reaching for it. I felt like I was airborne and I looked out the window and I was flying through the air. I jumped because I didn't know what else to do. It wasn't that high…"

"You're lucky you did jump, you'd have been dead if you didn't." I whisper.

KATNISS'S POV

I can smell the B.O. coming off my body and it makes me want to vomit.

I can tell that the Doctor can't speak French by just looking at him.

"Je veux rentrer à la maison en ce moment." I say seriously. (I want to go home right now.)

"Vous avez juste réveillé d'un coma pendant six mois. Vous ne pouvez pas encore quitter." Peeta says, (You just woke up from a coma for six months. You can't leave yet.)

"Je sens que je viens ressuscité d'entre les morts." I whine. (I smell like I've just risen from the dead.)

"Non, vous ne le faites pas, bébé." He assures me. (No you don't baby.)

"Oui je fais. Soit i sors d'ici ou je sors." I say stubbornly. (Yes I do. Either I get out of here or I walk out.)

He sighs loudly, his annoyance evident. "How long until she can go home?" he asks the doctor.

"Well Katniss, how do you feel?"

"Wonderful." I gush.

He starts checking up on me, asking pointless questions that are testing my patience. "Is this really necessary?" I blurt. Peeta shoots me a 'be nice' look, and I shoot him a 'he's pissing me off' look. Peeta runs his fingers through his hair.

"Yes it is necessary." The doctor says. I sigh and sit back.

After at least an hour of questioning, he lets me go, insisting to be careful and to rest and that someone needs to be with me at all times. I need to not overwork myself and I need to be careful and not to do anything I usually do.

I nod like I care even though I'm not going to listen. After I'm dressed, everyone follows us out of the hospital. "I don't care where we go. I need to take a shower." I say.

"Oh I got you and the boy place." Haymitch gives us the address. I'm already walking across the parking lot to Peeta's car, and he grabs my wrist to pull me to a stop. I lock eyes with Peeta and sigh, irritated.

"Thanks Haymitch." Peeta says.

"Yeah, thanks. Can we go now?" I ask.

"Yes, let's go." He says.

"Drive carefully!" Mom says.

"Yes, and remember the rules!" Effie, Mom and Mrs. Mellark call together.

"We're not going to have sex! I just want to take a shower!" I say.

"You need to pay attention to what you're doing." Peeta says as he pulls me backwards.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"You nearly walked right in front of a car." He says.

"Oh…" I bite my lip. "Bye!" I wave to the family. Peeta opens the door for me. "You don't have to do-"

"You always say that." He says. He waits till he's sure I'm all the way in the car before shutting the door. Then when he's in he reaches over and tugs my seatbelt till he's sure I'm safe.

We drive in silence for a long time. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm worried about you." he takes my hand.

"Why?" I ask.

"I don't know."

We pull up in front of a large two story light green house with a garage and the door on the left with a garden between. "Welcome home." He says.

I'm surprised. I was expecting a mansion, which I didn't want. This is perfect. I get out but Peeta meets me on my side of the car and takes me out. He leads me inside by the hand.

He gives me the tour.

When you walk in there is a door to your right which holds the laundry room and the door to the left leads to the garage. To the left there is a huge kitchen that overlooks a living room and down the hall is a bathroom. On the other side if the hall is a music room. There are big windows overlooking a nicely tamed garden and a huge swimming pool with a hot tub. There is a staircase in the hall with the bathroom. He pulls me up it. There is a master bedroom with a bathroom that is enormous and three now rooms with their own bathrooms. And there is a movie theater. On the other side of the garden outside we have our own private basketball court.

"I can't play basketball." I admit.

"I can teach you." He trails his hand down my arm. "Now this is my room." He points to the room directly next to the master bedroom. "I would prefer you have the master but you choose." He says.

"How about...if we get married, we switch to the master, the both of us?" I ask.

"That sounds fair." He says.

"I'm taking this room." I go into the room overlooking the garden. "I'm going to take a shower." I get my luggage from the master and move to my room.

"Kat?" He asks.

"Yes?"

"Your acting...urgent."

"Because B.O. is my least favorite smell, and I reek of it." I reply.

"Okay...if you need anything..." He trails off.

"I know." I walk into the bathroom and shut the door. I strip down and step under the hot spray and sigh in relief after scrubbing my body for at least ten minutes that the stench has disappeared.

...9...

We ended up going to the beach. I'm wondering if everyone thinks I'm dead because nobody has noticed me.

God, that sounds stuck up. I'm probably torturing Peeta because I have a bikini on but I'm wearing an old t-shirt and shorts.

Peeta and I find ourselves running from the water, singing random songs and just fooling around. I don't think we actually thought it through. He sweeps me onto his back and starts running. I scream and he laughs.

Then, he trips and sends us both to the ground with so much force that I shoot off of him and skid across the sand at least ten feet from him. He sits up and I sit up. Both of us are completely covered in sand. I didn't realize we had an audience until now. Our mouths are half open, our eyes wide. Then I throw my head back and just start laughing uncontrollably. He starts laughing with me. I crawl into the water and clean myself off and he follows me.

Then we go back to messing around and screaming songs.

We have almost the entire beach and the paparazzi as our audience and we don't even care.

"Okay, now sing me a song about a breakup." He narrows his eyes challenging. The high notes in the end of this song are really high and there is only one person I know of that can do them without the help of auto tune, and that is Whitney Houston. I dig into Peeta's pocket and get his phone. "No way, you have to sing it." He reaches for it but I back up.

"I will, I promise, I just have to go to the karaoke version!" I insist, unlocking his phone.

"How do you know my password?" He challenges.

"Peeta, my birthday." I laugh.

He sighs. "I have to change it."

"My middle name." I say. His face drops.

"I'll change it to something else but don't say it. I don't care if you know it." he says. The song start and I sing through it easily. The high notes come and even I am surprised when I nail them. Cheers break out amongst everyone and I grin happily. Peeta looks speechless.

And we continue on.

...9...

He's acting...weird. He's being really quite and he keeps sighing and running his fingers through his hair. Both families are over.

"What's the matter?" I finally blurt. Everyone is watching him. He stands up and starts scratching the back of his neck.

He's really nervous about something. I stand up. "Peeta, what's the matter?" He runs his hand through his hair again.

"Marry me?" He asks.

"What?" I ask like an idiot.

"I said," he begins, dropping down to one knee and pulling a ring box out of his pocket. "will you marry me?"

Oh my god. The room is deathly silent and my heart is pounding in my ears. I'm sure everyone can hear it. I want to say yes but my mouth is glued shut. It's like I can only stare at him. Am I paralyzed?

I must be.

Luckily though, I start nodding like crazy. He slips the ring onto my finger as the entire family begins to cheer. He stands up and I throw my arms around his neck, colliding our lips together. He spins me around and the family is cheering and it's just so happy.

...9...

I sigh and shut the TV off, toss and turn for another two hours and then flip it back on.

It's hot in here. I groan in annoyance. It's probably four forty in the morning. "Screw everything!" I roll over onto my stomach.

Nothing good is on TV and I can't fall asleep. It's hot in the house. I stand up and take off all my clothing except for my bra and underwear and then leave the TV on and storm downstairs. I rummage through the movies until I find Winters Bone and go back upstairs.

PEETA'S POV

I can hear noises in my baby girl's room. My eyes flit to the clock on my bedside table. Five in the morning.

I hear her groan, and I start to wonder if it's in annoyance or pleasure.

I find myself getting up and walking across the hall to her bedroom.

KATNISS'S POV

"What are you doing?" I jump and drop the CD in my hand. Peeta is standing in the doorway, looking tired but curious. His eyes trail up and down my body, only two thin pieces of fabric covering my private parts.

"Um..." I look at the TV. "I can't fall asleep and nothing good is on."

"Where are your clothes?" He asks. I point to the hamper.

"It's hot in here." I mutter. I start the movie and plop down in bed. He looks at the screen.

"Mind if I join you?" He asks.

"Nope." I reply. He shuts the door and slides into my bed next to me. I get up and pull on my tank top and shorts again. We watch Winters Bone in silence for a while. "You know, I know her." I blurt.

"Who?" He asks.

"Jennifer Lawrence."

"Bull." He says.

"Really, I do. We were good friends in high school." I insist.

"How come you never talk about her?" He challenges.

"She's never come up." I shrug.

"Katniss, you were friends with an Oscar winning actress and you didn't think to mention her?"

I sigh and give up.

We stay silent for a long time. "Can I ask you something?" I ask softly, looking up at him.

"You can ask me anything." He replies.

"Did you only ask me to marry you so we can have sex?"

He sits up so suddenly that I fall off of him and into the pillows. "Of course not. I'm hurt you think that." He says.

"Sorry..." I mumble. He lays back down and pulls me against him.

"I asked you to marry me because I'm in love with you."

"I'm in love with you, too." The engagement ring catches in the moonlight and I smile.

I couldn't be happier in life than I am right now.


	14. Chapter 14

When I wake up at six in the morning I can't help but burst into tears when I see that I have been sleeping for such little time that Winters Bone is still on. The sun is up and I'm just so tired and upset. I throw the covers of me and run downstairs.

"Katniss Joy," Peeta chases me, putting his hand on the door to keep me from leaving. "What's the matter baby girl? Talk to me." I've woken a lot of people up.

"I just want to go to sleep!" I whine.

Rye actually laughs. "Your bed is upstairs, not outside." He says.

"Rye it's not funny. She's slept literally a half hour." Peeta says.

"Well she was sleeping for six months." Justice says.

"It's not funny." He snaps.

"Hot baths help you sleep." Mom says.

"I want to go to sleep right now!"

"I'll knock you out." Johanna suggests.

"Okay."

She moves so quickly that she's standing in front of me in less than a second, and Peeta grabs my arm and pushes me behind him. "No. She needs to actually sleep."

"Lay with her." Mom shrugs.

"I worked last time." He points out to me. Then he takes my hand and leads me upstairs.

I toss and turn for at least three hours before I fall asleep.

…..a…..

I wake about five minutes later and Peeta is gone. The issue clicks.

My bed smells like new sheets. Could that keep me awake?

I kick the covers off of me, onto the floor and stomp across the hall to Peeta's room. I can smell bacon downstairs. I can hear the family talking amongst themselves.

PEETA'S POV

I'm frustrated when Katniss comes downstairs fifteen minutes after she fell asleep. Now she doesn't have a bra on, she's in my shirt and wrapped in my blankets.

She's so delirious that she literally crawls onto the kitchen table, wraps herself up like a burrito, and falls asleep.

"Looks like we're eating somewhere else…" I walk into the living room.

"Why?" Kegan asks.

"Kat's sleeping on the table."

"Legit?" Rye asks.

"Yes." I reply. He starts laughing as he walks into the kitchen. I follow him. "Leave her alone Rye." I grab his wrist when he reaches out to mess with her. "She's exhausted."

"Fine." He grumbles.

I calmly finish breakfast and serve everyone, and debate of waking Katniss but decide against it.

…a…

"Uh…" Prim starts to laugh. We're all sitting in the living room but she went into the kitchen , where Katniss is still passed out on the table. I wanted to move her but decided against it. "I think Katniss woke up!" she says. "But don't come in here!" she adds quickly.

"Why?" I ask.

'Well she didn't have a bra on and your shirt is on the floor. All she's wearing is a pair of white underwear and she is using the blanket as a pillow so uh…she's not covered."

"I'm thirsty!" Kegan says.

"Me too!" Justice agrees.

"Let's get a drink!" Graham says.

"I'll open them!" Rye exclaims. I stand up and move in front of them.

"If I can't see her then neither can you, sit your asses down." After a minute of a glaring contest, the four boys sit back down.

"Katniss! Put your damn shirt on!" Prim says.

"I have a shirt on!" Katniss replies.

"No you don't!" she says. "Katniss!" she turns frantic, and then she practically screams, "Cover your eyes!"

We all do even Rye, Graham, Justice and Kegan. "Katniss! Put your fucking shirt on!" Johanna says.

"Shut up Johanna, I'm wearing a shirt!" Katniss starts to cry.

I hear something hit the floor and Katniss and Johanna screaming at each other. "You can open your eyes now."

We all open our eyes to see Katniss trying to get her shirt off, pinned to the floor by Johanna. "Let go butt-face!" Katniss screams. "Peeta get her off me!" she whines.

"You need to go to bed." I tell her.

"Get off!" Katniss bites Johanna's arm and rips skin.

"Shit!" Johanna gets off of her and she stands up and reaches for the hem of her-my t-shirt.

I grab the bottom of it to keep her from picking it up. "You have nothing on under this." I inform her.

"So? You say you love me!"

"I do love you." I frown.

"Well then let me be free!" her voice is light and airy. She gets her shirt halfway up before I pull is back down and pick her up, still keeping her shirt down. "Can we go make out?" she asks.

"You need to go to sleep." I answer.

"Can we have sex instead?"

"No Katniss, you need to-"

"We're married though!" she cries out. "See! Looky! It's red like period blood!" she points to the ruby engagement ring, which is surrounded by tiny diamonds.

"We are not _married. _We are _engaged_."

"Well I want to have sex!" she kisses me sloppily. "You love me right?"

"Yes Katniss Joy, but-"

"Then let's have sex!" she jumps off me and starts fiddling with my jeans.

"Katniss you need to go upstairs and go to bed. Right now." I step away from her and cross my arms. She sighs angrily.

"Rye will have sex with me, won't you Rye?" she asks.

"Of course Kat!" Rye stands up. I push him back down and turn to Katniss.

"Go upstairs." I cross my arms again. She turns around and I hear her footsteps, and then she giggles, and two seconds later, she flings my shirt at me and when I turn around, she's gone, laughing her way into a room and shutting the door. "Please tell me nobody saw that." I say. "She's going to be really upset when she wakes up and finds out."

"Sadly I did not see." Justice frowns. Rye, Graham and Kegan all look upset.

"I saw." Finnick says. "Doesn't matter though, not like it's the first time."

"What do you mean?" I ask roughly.

"Didn't she tell you that I found her after Cato did what he did?" He asks.

"Oh yeah..." I say. "I knew that."

...9...

The next time she wakes up, she is perfectly fine. It's two in the afternoon and she is dressed. "Why did I wake up naked?"

"You had underwear on." Prim says.

"No, I was naked." She says.

"Katniss...you came downstairs and slept a bit on the table. You had no bra on and was in my shirt and blanket. Then you took the shirt off and three it on the floor. Prim saw and you came walking into the living room. We all covered our eyes. Johanna put your shirt on after tackling you and you bit Johanna. Then you kept trying to take the shirt off, tried to get me to have sex with you, then asked Rye to have sex with you. And then, you took her shirt off, giggled and ran upstairs. You must have taken your underwear off."

"Your making that up." She says.

"No baby girl, I'm not." I reply.

"Who uh..."

"Finnick, Johanna and Prim."

Relief floods her face. "Well Finn has already seen me." She sits down on my lap.

"You really wanted sex though. You were trying to get my pants down." I laugh and her face goes bright red.

"Sorry..." She mumbles.

"It's okay." I kiss her cheek.

"So are we going to have sex or what?" Rye asks.

"Not in your wettest dream." She replies sweetly. I smile and kiss her cheek again.

"You know you can sit right there, right?" Finnick points across the living room to an empty seat on the couch. Katniss looks at me, and then the couch.

"I know."

She shifts into a comfortable position on my lap and then sits back. I rest my chin on her shoulder and wrap my arms around her and entwine our fingers. The coolness of her ring on my hands make me smile. "I have to tell you something." I whisper in her ear.

"Hmm?" She mumbles.

"I love you." I kiss her neck. She shivers.

"I love you too." She turns her head to kiss my lips.

"Hey Kat, I found this band I like." Prim says.

KATNISS'S POV

I internally groan. Here comes an hour of listening to an album of my least favorite type of music. Peeta laughs into my neck. "Will you listen to it with me?"

The issue is I really don't want to but I'm too mean to tell her no. "Uh...yeah, sure." I reply. I can tell she's doing this to piss me off, knowing I hate her type of music but am too nice to tell her no. She whips out her phone. Peeta is laughing hysterically, silently in my neck. Wipe my face of emotion. I hear the start of a Taylor Swift song and I narrow my eyes as she quickly changes it, flicking her eyes up to mine. "What was that?"

"Nothing." She says. I stand up and snatch her phone from her hand.

"Bitch! Give it back!" She screeches. I run with it and she chases me, around the garden and the pool. I see that every song she has is good songs and she has one screamo song. I trip and fall into the pool. When I come up, she's screaming. I crawl out. "You asshole, you broke my fucking phone!"

"I'm sorry!" I scream back. We start fighting.

"You were the one that fell in the fucking pool!" She's pissed.

I turn around, her broken iPhone 1 in hand, and walk upstairs.

It's only about three in the afternoon. I wait in my room for about a half hour before changing into a white loose half shirt that Finn had gotten me for Christmas that says in silver sparkly letters _SEXY and I KNOW IT_ and a pair of black shorts and sandals. I pull my hair into a braid, brush my teeth, put on deodorant, and spray on perfume. Then, I get my big black leather purse and dump everything from my old one in it and Prim's waterlogged phone. I need to get a house key and my car.

My poor car; I need to get a new one, and a new phone, because I broke that too. I hadthe iPhone 4s.

This is going to take a lot, begging Peeta. I go downstairs and brace myself. "Can I use your car?" I ask, fiddling nervously with the end of my braid.

He doesn't ever want me out of his sight. As long as we're in the same house and he knows I'm safe, then he's fine but out in the city alone, driving…

This is going to take a lot. "Where are you going?" he asks.

"Um…to take care of things…" I rock back and forth from my toes to my heels. "Please? I'll be careful."

"I don't know…" he stands up. "You could get hurt and I don't want you to be injured. Katniss…it's not very safe…"

"But last time was an _accident_! This time, I won't be distracted. _Please_? I promise I'll be careful!"

"You don't even have a phone…" he really doesn't want me to go, but he can't leave with me because the family is here and we can't just leave them in our house.

"I know…" I bite my lip.

"You can't keep her from driving forever, son." Mr. Mellark says.

"Fine." He digs his car keys out of his pocket and drops them into my hand. "Just…_please_ be careful." He whispers. I tangle my fingers in his hair.

"I will, I promise." I stand up on my tiptoes and kiss him.

I can feel his eyes on me as I walk out the door.

…..a…

The first thing I do is get a house key made using Peeta's key. Then, I go and get a new car, a Jeep Wrangler, which takes until eight at night. I attach it to the back of Peeta's car with a trailer by the hitch. I go to Sprint and get one yellow and one blue iPhone 5c's and get one of them a clear snap on phone case for mine and a clear life proof case for Prim. I get the yellow one. I beg for the guy to put the phone on my plan and after a lot of arguing and pleading, he gives in. I add my parents too. They can barely afford their house and I'm rich, so I'm going to help them out. Mom wants the iPhone 5s so I get it and get the silver one and since she's in love with Vera Bradley, I get her a phone case in her favorite pattern. Dad wants a Samsung Galaxy s4, so I get him that and a black case and a white case.

Then I get all of them, myself included _good _earbuds.

Then I ignore the sky rocketing price because I have four million dollars as I swipe my card, fill Peeta's tank and head home.

I'm nearly knocked backwards by Peeta when I walk into the door. He pulls me into a death grip hug. "What took you so long?" he demands.

"Errands." I answer.

"I thought you got hurt." He whispers.

"Well I didn't, see?" I grab his hand and press it to my chest, over my heart. His face floods with relief and I smile. I walk into the living room. I make Mom, Dad and Prim stand up.

"What's this about?" Prim asks, still mad at me.

"Be patient." I say. She sighs and crosses her arms.

"So…I know you guys don't exactly have a lot of money…" They remain silent. "But I'm a millionaire…so…your protests will be ignored, but I've added the three of you to my phone plan." I drop Dad's phone in his hand, Mom's hand in hers and Prim's in hers, and add the earbuds.

"I can't take this." Mom says.

"I told you protests are ignored." I say.

"Katniss this really isn't necessary." Dad says. "I'm fine with the flip phone."

"Yeah honey…" Mom trails off.

"Thanks Kat!" Prim doesn't protest at all. She plops down on the couch and starts to mess with her phone. "What are my restrictions?" she asks.

"What restrictions?" I repeat.

"Yeah, you know minutes and data?"

"Oh, you have unlimited. I hate being forced to stop." I reply.

"Katniss honestly, I'm fine with this." Dad holds out his flip phone.

"If it's broken will you still be fine with it?"

"No, but-" I take his phone and throw it in the garbage disposal and flick the switch, covering my ears as the sound of crunching metal hits my ears.

"Fine, we'll make a deal." He says. I know he isn't fine with his flip phone. I start rummaging through the cabinets for something to eat, casting him a glance over my shoulder, letting him know I'm listening. "We'll spilt the bill in three ways." He says.

I hesitate for a moment. "No deal."

"Katniss, come on!" He says. I laugh because Dad never begs me for anything.

"No. That means you are paying part of mine and I'm not going to let you do that. Either you take the phone and deal with it or…" I hesitate. "Or you take the phone and deal with it."

"You have to let me pay." He insists.

"Dad, I have four million dollars. Let me spend it!"

"Spend it on your fiancé for god's sake!" he says.

"I'm not opposed to that!" Peeta jokes. "Just kidding." He walks into the kitchen. "You better not spend a dime on me."

"I will spend more than a dime on you. Nothing is for sale that is a dime." I say.

"Katniss I'm not letting you do this." Dad says.

"I told you protests aren't allowed."

"Either you let me pay or…" he thinks of a consequence.

"You can't ground me; you can't take away my phone. Peeta, what is this white stuff? Is this cocaine?" I ask, grabbing a giant bag of white powder and setting it on the counter, turning to my fiancé, who starts laughing.

"It's powdered sugar!" he says.

"What?" I open the bag and peer inside. "Powdered sugar?" I grab a handful of it and pour it into my mouth. He wipes off my cheeks and face.

"Fine, you have to let me pay some of it though!"

"Will that make you happy?" I ask.

"Yes." He sighs.

"Fine,"

Someone rings the doorbell. "I'll get it." I say.

Peeta plants a kiss on my cheek as I walk to get the door. The girl there just stares at me.

"Yes?" I ask.

"I thought you were dead!" she starts crying.

"Um…" I look over my shoulder in confusion. "I'm alive…"

"The world thinks your dead! The tabloids are saying your dead!"

"What?" I'm astonished.

"The hospital Good Samaritan Hospital, the one you stayed at released a statement saying you had a seizure in your coma and you died!" She shrieks.

"What?" I ask, bewildered.

"And someone leaked your address like ten minutes ago!" Another car pulls into the driveway.

"Is that why you're here?"

"I wanted to apologize to your family!" she says.

Three more cars pull in.

This is not good.


	15. Chapter 15

**This is going to be really short but your going to hate me but then love me. **

A few months pass and before I know it, it is September. Everyone is at their own houses and I'm just getting home from the recording studio and I find Peeta hanging up the phone and then looking like he's about to burst into tears. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"I…have to move…I have to move back to New York City. That was the guy is letting me rent the building for my bakery and he said if I don't move back, then he's taking back the building."

I'm silent for a long time. "I can't move to New York…my job is here in LA."

"I know…" he sits down.

We stare at each other for a long time. "What happens then? How are we supposed to be together when our entire lives are across the country from one another?"

"We can't have a long distance relationship…" he looks like he wants to die.

"Why don't you just let me make all the money?" I whisper.

"I can't do that." He shakes his head.

"But…" my bottom lip starts trembling. "I get like…no days off. If you come here I'll be working and if I come there it's going to be like a day."

"Well then this isn't going to work out too well…" he looks weak and broken. It takes all of my willpower, but I manage to keep myself from crying.

"When are you moving?" I bite my lip.

He looks down. "I have two days."

Silently, I hand him the engagement ring. "It doesn't mean we can't talk still…um…I'll help you pack."


	16. Chapter 16

December has always been my favorite time of the year.

Everyone is so happy and kids are excited and the families come together and they reunite. Shopping is wild but everyone is in a good mood even though the thing they need just got bought by someone else. People wrap gifts and the tape is hardly there.

And this is the first time I don't feel that.

Instead, I feel an overwhelming sense if pain at the fact that my family won't be complete without Peeta.

Not really.

Ellen waves her hand in front of my face and I remind myself she just asked me how in doing without Peeta.

I know this subject is going to get teary. "Honestly?" I whisper.

"Yes." She says.

The silence in the audience is too loud as they all wait for my answer.

"I'm horrible. I'm sad all the time and I wish I had a time machine. If I did..." Tears start rolling down my cheeks. "If I did I would pay any amount of money to get him back..."

She hands me tissues.

"It's not too late, you know." She whispers.

"And we both knew that the whole thing about how we were going to still talk was bullshit. We don't talk because the pain is..." I inhale sharply and bury my head in my hands. "It's intense. You know how they say that burning to death is the worst pain?" I whisper.

"Yes." She says.

"It's not. Heartbreak is by far the worst pain. There is nothing more painful."

"When is the last time you talked him?" Ellen asks.

"His birthday. That was in October. It's only been a few months but it feels like a few decades." I whisper.

"What is the pain like?" She whispers.

"The pain is..." I take a deep breath. "Well...it feels like nothingness, like a slow kind of pain in your chest, like your holding your breath, but you don't want to breath because if you do, it's over. And then it feels like everything around is crashing down, and and you don't feel like doing anything, because you don't want to believe it. It's brutal and no physical pain can compare."

"That sounds horrible."

"Oh, that's only the parts I can say."

...;...

Jo: you won't believe this.

It's the same day but later.

Me: what

She sends me a link.

Jo: look at it on your laptop

I copy the link and paste it in an email, send it to myself and get it from my laptop and click on it.

It's Peeta on YouTube and he's standing with a guitar. He's got his head bowed for a while.

He doesn't say a word. This video has 328,000,000 views and only twenty four dislikes. The rest are likes.

He starts playing the guitar and someone starts playing the drums.

_Hey old friend, thanks for callin'_

_It's good to know somebody cares_

_Yeah she's gone, but I don't feel like talkin'_

_It might be just too much to bear_

_To hear somebody say it stops hurting_

_Or to hear somebody say she ain't worth it_

_'Cause you don't know her like I do_

_You'll never understand_

_You don't know we've been through_

_That girl's my best friend_

_And there's no way you're gonna help me_

_She's the only one who can_

_No, you don't know how much I've got to lose_

_You don't know her like I do_

_I can't forget, I'm drowning in these memories_

_It fills my soul with all the little things_

_And I can't cope, it's like a death inside the family_

_It's like she stole my way to breathe_

_So don't try to tell me I'll stop hurting_

_And don't try to tell me she ain't worth it_

_Cause you don't know her like I do_

_You'll never understand_

_You don't know we've been through_

_That girl's my best friend_

_And there's no way you're gonna help me_

_She's the only one who can_

_No, you don't know how much I've got to lose_

_You don't know her like I do_

_You don't know her like I do_

_You'll never understand_

_You don't know we've been through_

_That girl's my best friend_

_There's no way you're gonna help me_

_She's the only one who can_

_No, you don't know how much I've got to lose_

_No, you'll never know how much I've got to lose_

_You don't know her like I do_

_Not like I do_

_Never understand_

_That girl's my best friend_

_That girl's my best friend_

_That girl's my best friend._

I cry. Oh god do I cry.

I cry four hours. I cry all night, slipping to the floor. Finnick comes over with the family and he holds me.

There is only one pair of arms that can make me feel better.

I cry in Jo's shoulder and Prim's neck and then Mama's shoulder and Dad's chest.

I cry till noon and then everything goes dark.

...8...

I stare at the fireplace. It's only five at night.

I woke up an hour later and I've sat her since then.

"He it's posted a new video last night." Johanna says. "You can't listen to this one though..."

I'm already on my phone going to his account. He's at a piano this time.

This time, he's crying but his voice doesn't change as he starts the piano.

_I can usually drink you right off of my mind_

_But I miss you tonight_

_I can normally push you right out of my heart_

_But I'm too tired to fight_

_Yeah the whole thing begins_

_And I let you sink into my veins_

_And I feel the pain like it's new_

_Everything that we were,_

_Everything that you said,_

_Everything that I did and that I couldn't do_

_Plays through tonight_

Someone starts playing the guitar and the drums in the background.

_Tonight your memory burns like a fire_

_With every one it grows higher and higher_

_And I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love_

_I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back_

_Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming_

_Come wake me up_

_Turn the TV up loud just to drown out your voice, but I can't forget_

_Now I'm all out of ideas and baby I'm down to my last cigarette_

_Yeah, you're probably asleep deep inside of your dreams while I'm sitting here crying and trying to see_

_Yeah, wherever you are baby now I am sure you moved on and aren't thinking twice about me_

_And you tonight_

_Tonight your memory burns like a fire_

_With every one it grows higher and higher_

_I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love_

_I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back_

_Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming_

_I know that you're movin' on_

_I know I should give you up_

_But I keep hopin' that you'll trip and fall back in love_

_Time's not healin' anything_

_Baby, this pain is worse than it ever was_

_I know that you can't hear me, but baby I need you to save me tonight_

_Tonight your memory burns like a fire_

_With every one it grows higher and higher_

_I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love_

_I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back_

_Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming_

_Come wake me up_

_Oh, I'm dreaming_

_Come wake me up_

_Oh, I'm dreaming_

I start crying again.

_Come wake me up. _

_I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back. _

I'm coming back.

This time, I go upstairs and lock myself in my bedroom.

And then I'm waiting to go to Ellen.

... ...

"So Katniss, your here to announce something?" She whispers.

"Yes..." I bite my lip.

"And what is it?"

"I'm an idiot." I blurt. She raises her eyebrows. "'If you love someone set them free' is probably the most impossible statement known to man. If you love someone as much as I love Peeta it's near impossible to let them go because you love them so much that it physically pains you to be away from them for any amount of time."

"How does that make you an idiot?" She asks.

I get the feeling that everyone knows where this is going. "Because I willingly let him go. I took the ring off and I handed it to him and it was like getting punched in the face. It took everything I had not to cry. I hate the fact that I hate my life so much right now. I'm done with this." I gesture around the studio. "I'm done singing and doing talk shows. I'm done signing autographs and I'm done being in the spotlight."

"What does that mean?" Ellen asks as shouts of protests fill the air.

"It means I'm going home."

"Home to Kentucky?" Ellen asks, clearly not understanding.

"No. No, not home to Kentucky. I'm going home to Peeta. That's my only true home." I take a deep breath. "Peeta...I'm saying this to you and you specifically. I'm coming home. If you don't want me I'll stay in New York City and I will purposely run into you with coffee ever damn day. Even though you won't know it, I'll be here. I'll be waiting." Then, I take off the microphone, stand up and walk off the stage and out of the studio.

...9...

By now, the entire world has seen that episode of Ellen, and if they haven't they have heard about it.

Hell, it's been all over the news. I walk out of the airport. Although everyone is mad at me and upset I'm done, they still shout good luck every time they see me.

Someone shouts good luck as I wave down a taxi and I wave at them to tell them thanks. Even though it's eleven at night, a lot of people are walking the streets. The first taxi that can stop slams on the breaks.

I rush into the taxi and am just starting to tell him where I think Peeta lives but he already starts driving. "I know where he lives." He says.

"How?" I ask.

"Everyone that lives here knows where he lives." He insists.

"Okay..." I drum my fingers on my knee impatiently. He drives for a while and then stops in front of a large townhouse. I pay him a hundred dollars and get out of the taxi before he can even think of protesting. "Thanks!" Then I race up the cement path and he drives off.

Just as I am rising my fist to knock, the door is ripped open and I am met with the most beautiful blue eyes. I know that right now, there are paparazzi hiding watching us.

"Well don't just stand in the cold." He opens the door wider and steps aside.

I keep my gray eyes locks with his blue ones as I walk into the house. He bumps the door with his knee and it slides shut.

After staring at each other for a while, tears start sliding down my cheeks. They're uncontrollable. I don't say anything, but slowly, he reaches forwards and unzips my jacket. He slides it off of my arms and hangs it up.

"I thought..." He takes a deep breath. "I thought that whole thing on Ellen was a publicly stunt." He whispers softly. There is nothing down here, but the floor is hardwood. There is a room off to the left side, though.

"Well uh..." I swallow the growing lump in my throat but it comes right back. "It wasn't..."

"Well..." He trails off.

"I'm sorry, I'll just go-" his arm shoots out and turns the deadbolt.

"I don't want you to go." He whispers.

I stare at him again.

Then, he brushes a strand of loose hair behind my ear.

"Well then I suppose I'll stay." He smiles a little and sticks his hand in his pockets. "So um...you can uh..." He takes his right hand from his pocket and starts scratching at the back of his neck. I smile and look down at the floor, and then back up at him. "Will you be my girlfriend again? Or fiancé? I don't want to push you but I still um...the ring is upstairs...you just...you can move in with me or I'll just let the bakery fall and go to California and open a bakery there...you can um...I mean..." He trails off, and then just barely whispers, "It's your call."

"I don't like California. I miss the snow. It doesn't feel like home without the snow..." I bite my lip. "It's your house Peeta..." His name on my lips being spoken to him feels incredible. "And um...it's kind of your call about the whole relationship..."

"Then your moving in." He hesitates, eying my carefully. "Okay?"

"Okay." I mumble. The hair he tucked behind my ear falls again, and he reaches forwards and brushes it behind my ear again. Then he slides the back of his hand across my cheeks to wipe away the tears that lie there. My heart speeds up as I feel the pleasant burn that appears.

"And...I would really prefer if you put the ring on again."

"Okay." I whisper.

We stare at each other for a long time.

I have to touch him. I slip my hands under the back of his shirt and pull him into a hug. He wraps his arms around me.

Slowly, I lift my eyes up to his. He looks down at me. And then we kiss.

I don't know what happens next, but the next thing I'm aware of, we're in his bedroom with a bathroom to the right and a sunroom to the left. He's in his boxers and I'm in absolutely nothing except for my panties and we are making out intensely, me planted right on his groan, right on his boner.

He pulls away suddenly and gasps.

"What?" I ask breathlessly.

"We can't have sex." He starts shaking his head like crazy but looks so desperate.

"We won't."

...9...

When I wake up, I'm in just my underwear. I reach for Peeta but feeling nothing but cold sheets. I throw the covers off of my and pull on my bra. Then I look around for my clothes and pull them on. I go downstairs and frown. "Peeta?" I call. I don't get a reply. "Peeta?" I walk around but stop short when I see a note on the counter.

Kat,

I really didn't want to leave you because I love watching you sleep but I had to run some errands. I should be back by noon.

I love you

Love Peeta

I look at the time and see it's only nine.

I sigh.

Then I grab my phone and use my fingers as a hairbrush, toss the note on the counter and walk out the door.

...0...

"Katniss!" Jake practically screams.

"Kat!" Kate adds excitedly.

It's weird here without Finn. They start making my drink without asking and I pay and then sit and talk for a few hours. I get another coffee, hug them goodbye and walk out the door.

My phone starts vibrating. "Hello?" I ask.

"How'd it go?" Johanna demands.

"Are you guys back together?" Prim demands. I'm on speaker phone.

I smile. "Yes." I walk quickly because it's nearing twelve and if Peeta gets home and I'm not there he's going to panic.

They make me explain.

"So you guys made up?" Finn asks.

"Yes, and-!" I slam into someone, spill my coffee all over the person and fall down on my ass. People on the streets stop, and the person I ran into starts laughing.

"What happened?" Finn asks.

"I ran into someone on the street and spilt my-oh!" I start laughing when Peeta stands up and pulls me to my feet. "I have to go." I hang up on my family. "Well this is just a coincidence, isn't it?" I ask.

"Except this time I'm engaged to someone I love." He says. "And you're not staring at my chest."

"And we're engaged."

"And in love." He kisses me and I hear multiple screams.

"So...can I buy you a new shirt?" I whisper.

"Only if I can buy you a new coffee."


	17. Chapter 17

"Wait, so you _really_ pushed Rye off the boat because he pissed you off?" I ask.

"Well you're mine and he called you sexy and I shoved him off the boat and let him tread water for five minutes."

I throw my head back, laughing hysterically. He laughs with me and we fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. "I miss your brothers." I admit. "They're like my brothers." I say.

"They basically are your brothers." He says. His phone starts ringing on the table. "Hey Dad," He's quiet for a moment. "Yes she is." His eyes drift up to mine and he reaches for my hand. "No there wasn't. We made up." He's quiet. "Dad...I kind of just want to-" he cuts off and sigh again. "I know you guys miss her, but-" he sighs. "But I want to-I know I've been with her-" they begin to argue over me. "Fine," He hangs up. "My family wants to see you." He says.

"Oh, I must be in trouble." I shoot him a teasing look. He returns it. I stand up and he rises too. We start down the sidewalk towards his car and he grabs me and lifts me onto his shoulders. I gasp in shock. "Peeta!" I tap his head.

"What?" He tilts his head back without thinking and sends me backwards. I catch myself before I hit my head.

"Oh my god baby I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear!" He pulls me off the floor.

"I'm fine." I say.

We walk for a while and he pulls me into his car.

...9...

We're joking around and purposely saying stupid things and asking retarded questions and telling stupid stories as we walk into Peeta's house.

I'm laughing so hard I can hardly breathe as I shed my jacket and hang it up. "And then Johanna pushes Prim into the pool and they started fighting! In the end, I had to break it up because Jo ripped out a lock of hair. That's why Prim wears extensions now."

"So Prim broke her phone then?" Peeta asks, pulling me towards the stairs.

"Yes and she cried so hard. It was hilarious!"

"Aw that's sad though! Did she at least get a new phone?"

"Yeah, I got her another one, but I almost pissed my pants Peeta, I swear." He's laughing again and so am I.

Someone grabs me from behind and spins me around.

When they stop, I see Rye has me lifted three feet off the ground and pulled flush again him, our faces less than an inch apart, my hands on his shoulders. "Kiss someone very close to you and I'll put you down." He says.

Peeta's arm is very close to mine, so I grab the neck of his shirt and pull his lips to mine for just a second.

"That doesn't count." Rye says.

"Fine, you can put me down or I take away your ability to have children." I threaten. He sets me on my feet.

Rye stalks upstairs ahead of Peeta and I and into the living room. I'm just about say hi when Graham runs for me and literally knocks me to the floor. Then he hovers on all fours above me.

"Get off." I instruct.

"No." He says.

The issue with me is, when I'm in this position with anyone except for Peeta I get terrified and images of Cato doing what he did flashes through my mind.

_"Stop moving!" He slaps me. _

_"Please!" I cry, "Please stop!" His hand connects with my cheek again. _

_"I said shut up!" He pushes my legs apart. _

_"N-no! Stop it!" I beg. His hands touch me in places that never should be touched unless I'm in a very serious relationship or married. _

_"This is your punishment for not giving me what I want." He thrusts roughly inside of me. _

_His lips smash against mine and I don't kiss him back. _

_My screams won't help, they only make it worse. _

_When he's done, he kicks me in the ribs. "I hope you get pregnant." _

The next thing I'm aware off, I'm lying face down on the floor, screaming and crying. Peeta is trying to get me up but I keep pushing him backwards. "Katniss I'm not Cato." He whispers. I push him away again, and he sits down right next to me. "Katniss." He starts running his fingers through my hair, and it's enough to make me stop screaming, but still cry. "Nobody here is going to hurt you. He can't hurt you anymore."

"Y-yes, h-he-"

"No he can't. He will never lay a finger on you. I swear my life on it." He says.

"W-what if you're not with me and h-h-he finds me and he d-does it again!" I sob.

"I'll always be with you then." He says.

"Promise?" I whimper.

"I promise. Now come here, you're going to get yourself sick." Slowly, he puts his hands on my hips and pulls me into his lap. "Don't cry anymore. I hate it when you cry. Besides, he's not worth your tears."

…..a…

A few hours later, I've completely calmed down and found some of my clothes that Peeta must have taken, so I change into them and go downstairs. "I can't believe you Kegan! Give me your phone! You're grounded!" Kegan's Dad, Peeta's Uncle Tommy shouts at him. Lucas, Kegan's ten year old brother laughs quietly.

"What was the subject he failed in?" Peeta asks.

"Chemistry, how do you fail a test in Chemistry? How do you fail with a zero percent?"

"A zero?" I ask. "That's a new low Kegan, even for you."

"Are you any good in Chemistry?" Aunt Jane asks, Kegan's mother.

"Yeah." I say.

"Cool, look at his test." She thrusts it into my hands. I sit down next to Kegan.

"Katniss I'm telling you I studied. That damn teacher is mentally insane." Kegan insists.

I read through the directions in silence for a minute.

_Before you answer anything, flip through this test and look at all the questions and answers._

I read every question and stop short at question sixteen. "Stand up and cluck like a chicken? What kind of question is that?" I sigh and continue flipping through the test.

At the very end, there is another set of directions.

_For those of you that actually __**read**____my directions, congratulations. Put your name on this test and put it on my desk. You get an automatic hundred._

I bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing. "Kegan…" I take a deep breath. "Read the directions this time." I drop the test in his lap and wait.

"Why do I need to read the directions? It's multiple choice. It's going to tell me to circle the correct answer."

"Well it doesn't say that. It starts with 'Before you answer anything, flip through this test and look at all the questions and answers.'"

"I'll get there when I answer the questions." He waves me off.

"Did you cluck like a chicken?" I smirk.

"Well…yes! A couple others did!"

"Yeah, that's so she can see who reads directions. The end of the test says 'For those of you that actually read my directions, Congratulations. Put your name on this test and put it on my desk. You get an automatic hundred.'" I flip through the test again. "And from the looks of it, you would have gotten a ninety. Next time, you should read the instructions."

"Wait, you're serious right now?" Uncle Tommy asks.

"Yes!" I laugh and hand the test to him. "I'm dead serious!" he flips through the test and then starts to laugh. I start laughing too. "Gosh, I want to meet your teacher!"

We start our usual banter and everyone cuts one another off as we tell stupid stories.

The smile on my face seems permanent because I'm just so happy. Peeta walks over to me because I'm not sitting with him and grabs my hips and picks me up.

Last night we both ended up naked, completely naked. We did everything you can possibly do without having sex. He was so gentle and sweet. I love him. I used my hand on him...my mouth...

He did the same thing to me and damn it was incredible.

What I'm scared of, is that somebody is going to find out.

He waves his hand in front of my face and puts his hands on my cheeks. "What's wrong?" He asks.

I'm overtired today. I haven't been sleeping too well but last night we were up pretty late. It's finally taking its toll on me.

"I'm just nervous." I say.

"Why are you nervous?" He asks.

"I...I can't tell you." I mumble.

"You can't tell me here or you can't tell me at all?"

"I can't tell you here." I just barely whisper.

"Well we can go somewhere-"

"No I can just wait." I rest my head on his shoulder and shut my eyes. "I'll wait." I plant a kiss on his neck because it's the closet skin to my lips that isn't covered by cloth.

He sighs.

Then, he moves his lips so they're right at my ear and whispers, "You're nervous about someone finding out about last night, aren't you?" His lips are covered by my hair so nobody sees his lips and my face is covered by his shoulder. I nod my head. "Do you regret it? Be honest with me, because I want to know."

"Do you?" I whisper.

"Honestly?" He asks. I nod. "No. Not even a little bit...I mean..." He looks around the room, secures his hands around me and stands up. "We will be back." He announces.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Mellark asks. "Peeta-"

"We're not doing anything." He walks away. Then he locks his bedroom door and tosses me onto the bed. "I don't regret it." He sits down in front of me and crosses his legs, our knees touching, our hands locking. "I just want to save my virginity and that for marriage. I see nothing wrong with doing that when we're engaged." He says. "Now, do you regret it?"

"No...I wish I could have saved my virginity..." I find tears welling in my eyes.

"Oh, but baby, you did." He whispers. "You didn't want that. There's a big difference. Technically, you did, but to me, you didn't."

"I guess so..." I bite my lip. "We can't go all the way though." I mumble.

"Of course not," He kisses my cheek. "And when the time comes and we get married...we don't ever have to make love if you don't want to. I can wait darling, I can stay a virgin my whole life. As long as my baby girl is happy, then so am I." He kisses me again.

"I don't deserve you." I whisper against his lip.

"Oh, but honey, I don't deserve you."


	18. Chapter 18

He's watching me again, Peeta is. He'll grin suddenly, and look away. Every time I catch him, my face flushes and I look down, and then he will laugh or smile and look away for a while. When I'm used to him not looking, I'll catch him again and then the process repeats.

This has been going on since we got downstairs after our chat.

I am not sitting with him; we are across the room from one another. I look up at him, and before I can look away, he beckons me forwards. I hesitate. Then, he grins and does it again. God, I'm having heart palpitations.

I stand up slowly and walk towards him. He plants a kiss right on my lips and then whispers, "Is there a problem, Katniss Joy?" He murmurs, his fingers running through my hair.

His words make my insides melt in love.

"No." I hook my fingers through the belt loops in his jeans. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" I ask when he gives me a look like he loves me so much. Like I'm going to die in the next two seconds and his face will be the last face I see.

"Because you're extravagantly stunning," He nuzzles my neck. I feel Goosebumps rise on my skin.

"You're just saying that..." I whisper.

"No I'm not." He kisses me again. "I," kiss "mean," kiss "every," kiss "word," kiss. I smile. "I love you." He whispers.

"I love you, too."

...9...

"Can I ask you something?" He whispers, his arms pulling me closer to him. It's late and we're in bed but we spent a good amount of time making out.

"Hmm?" I roll on top of him.

"Did you want to quit your job?" He whispers.

I didn't...I liked people cheering or screaming or flipping out when I walked past. I love my fans. I really didn't, but I wanted to as well because I just want to be with Peeta. "Um..."

"Answer baby," he kisses me for a moment. "Be honest."

"Not really...I liked being recognized and I love my fans and everything but the only place I can be happy at is with you. You are my home. I was homesick."

He wraps his arms tightly around me. "What if I quit my job and we move back to California?"

"Hell no, Peeta," I sit up on top of him, hardly caring and not noticing that I'm on his groin. "You worked long and hard for that bakery and I'm not going to just let you-" his lip crash against mine as he sits up and pushes me beneath him.

"I will open up another bakery in California and another one with a property I own here in the city." His hands slip under my-his shirt and he pulls it off. I don't have a bra on.

"I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do just do you can make me happy."

"But the thing is, darling; you're not making me do anything." Then he starts kissing me again.

...9...

The house is quiet for two seconds when I wake up. Then, I hear the doors downstairs shut and I roll over onto my stomach, and back onto my side, trying to get comfortable. I hear the door open, and then the sound of footsteps. Then, there's a gentle hand on my back. I roll over and force my eyes open. I'm not wearing clothing at all. Peeta sits down next to my legs and plants a kiss on my lips. "Did you sleep okay?" He whispers.

"Mm," I sit up and scoot closer to him. "Where'd you go?" I ask.

When I'm tired, my voice is high and light and airy and makes me sound like a child. Peeta finds it adorable, but I find it annoying. "Well I went and took care of the bakery issue." His fingers begin to run gently through my tangled hair until its smooth again.

"You did? Already-Peeta it's only ten, how'd you do that so fast?" I ask.

"Well…" he shrugs. "There was a property for sale and I bought it. I'm not telling the realtor yet. He's just an asshole. He doesn't even care that we broke up. As a matter of fact, he came in one day about a month ago and said 'how's Katniss?' and I wanted to kill him just then. He knew we broke up! He knew and he still went and asked-"

"Shhh," I press my finger to is lips. "Don't get yourself worked up." I whisper.

"I just…" he sighs. "I can't wait to get away from him." He shakes his head angrily.

"Peeta?" I whisper after a few moments.

"Hmm?" he starts rubbing my bare back.

"Can we get another house? I don't like the one I have now it's…" I bite my lip. "I want a house with a gate and a lot of grass so we can go outside and play like kids, you know? I'm happier outside! I mean…I grew up in Kentucky and I'm a country girl and I'd much rather just be outside all the time-"

"Katniss we can do whatever you want." He says.

""I don't want to make you do anything…I feel bad…" I bite my lip.

"Well don't feel bad, okay?" he kisses my forehead. "Now, I have to go grocery shopping." He stands up.

"I want to come." I say. "Can I go take a shower and come with you?" I ask.

"Of course." He says. I stand up and his eyes widen. I laugh when he whistles as I walk to the bathroom.

I shower quickly, and I drop the bar of soap and it slams against the bottom on the shower and the sound echoes.

Two seconds later, Peeta is outside the door, demanding if I'm okay. "I'm fine!" I insist.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"I'm fine! I just dropped the soap." I smirk and shake my head to myself.

It's cute how much he worries about me. "Okay…" he trails off. I snicker and wash my body. Then, since I love this coconut shampoo, I wash my hair again, and dry off and then wrap a towel around me and then walk out of the bathroom.

I have a feeling Peeta took more of my clothes when we broke up then he's letting on. I open the bottom drawer of his dresser. I can hear Rye and Graham downstairs. "Wait, she's in the shower?" Rye demands.

"Yes, what part of that do you not understand?" Peeta asks impatiently. I get out a pair of _my_ underwear, _my_ bra, _my _red skinny jeans and _my_ white sweater with an owl on it.

"That means she's naked in your glass shower, meaning, if I really wanted to, I could go up there and-"

"Or you could stop annoying her and I." Peeta interjects.

"I'm going up there." Rye says.

I hear three sets of heavy footsteps, but I slam the bedroom door and lock it, and the bathroom door. "Damn!" Graham shouts.

"She doesn't want you looking at her." Peeta says.

"She doesn't want you looking at her either!" Rye insists.

"Right, that's why she's wearing an engagement ring." Peeta says.

He's irritated and I'm angry at Rye and Graham for ruining his mood. I pull on the clothes and hang the towel up. I brush my hair with the brush I bought and brush my teeth with the toothbrush I bought. Then, I dry my hair and braid it. They're arguing outside of the door.

"Well just because she's engaged doesn't mean she loves you." Rye snaps.

"Okay, well-" I open the door.

"You two are really annoying." I cross my arms. Peeta looks me up and down and I know he realizes I found his secret stash of my clothing.

"You don't actually love Peeta; you just want sex without getting in trouble." Graham says.

"Actually, I do love Peeta. You two are just jealous because we'll get to have sex and you won't ever be able to have sex, because you two can't settle with one girl. When you get tired of her lips, you leave her."

"That's not true!" Graham says.

"How many different girls have you made out with in his past week?" I ask. No reply. "Exactly," I am normally nice to everyone, but when someone pisses me off or upsets Peeta, I will be rude.

"You're mean," Rye says.

"I'm just simply saying that you two are never going to settle down if you don't think about the person inside, not the girls' tits and how good their lips are. That stuff doesn't matter."

"Well what does matter then?" Graham asks. "I want to find the right person!"

"Look at their personality. Look at who they are. I'm telling you right now, once you can both stare into each other's eyes for eternity and regret every time you blink…that's when you've found the right person."

"And that doesn't mean you go around trying to stare into every girl's eyes that has nice tits. I'm telling you right now, you're going to know." Peeta says.

"What if we never find someone?" Graham asks.

"You will. There's someone out there that loves you enough to die for you. You just haven't met her…or him yet." I reply.

"I'm not gay." He says.

"You could end up being gay."

"And us, all the family and everyone…we'll support you either way." Peeta says. Then he turns to me. "Are we going?"

"Yes, just let me put my shoes on." I walk into the room and head for my boots that don't match, but he clears his through.

"Go look in the closet…" I narrow my eyes and open the closet door, pushing clothes aside.

"Dammit Peeta!" I grab my all-time favorite part of boots from the closet. He shrugs.

"I love you?" that's his excuse. I roll my eyes and pull on my boots and double my socks.

"Yeah, yeah." I stand up and walk into the bathroom. "I can't believe I didn't catch you doing that." I shake my head in disapproval and roll on my deodorant. "Let's go." I shut the bathroom door.

"Where are you doing?"

"Shopping." I reply.

"And exploring the city,"

"We are?" I raise my eyebrows at my fiancé.

"Yes, we are." He says.

"Can we come?" Rye asks. I look to Peeta and he shrugs.

"Okay."

….a…..

We haven't been shopping yet, we've been all around central park and we went to the twin towers monument and now we are walking Time's Square. "The paparazzi are following us." Rye announces.

"Just ignore them." I reply. "And don't answer their questions."

"What if I want to?" Graham asks.

"Then don't say anything stupid. Everything you say comes back to hit me in the face."

"So if I said I love you it would come back and hit you in the face?" Rye asks. I stop walking and so do the three boys.

"Yes. They will twist your words so that I'm cheating on Peeta with his older brother."

"Seriously?" Peeta asks.

"Yes."

"That's stupid." Graham shakes his head.

"Yeah, it really is." Disapproval is clear in Peeta's tone.

"Have you ever been mobbed aside from the time after you sang enchanted?" Peeta asks.

"Yes." I sigh. "I hate it. It's really terrifying."

"Well a ton of people are staring at you."

"Whatever." I sigh. Peeta eyes my braid and then steps closer to me. "Let them stare."

He plants a gentle kiss on my lips and then takes the hair-tie off of the end of the braid and puts it on my right wrist. He keeps our eyes locked for a moment or two as he takes out my braid and runs his fingers through my hair. "Leave it down." He says. My hair is long, about a little more than halfway to my butt.

"Ils sont juste derrière vous." Rye says. (They are right behind you.)

I grab Peeta's hand and start to walk. Rye and Graham follow. I turn into the nearest store and stop short. "What are we doing here?" Peeta asks.

"It was the closest store." I shrug. It's a puppy mill.

"I love dogs!" Rye walks away to the nearest area. They're all little fenced in areas lifted off the ground with puppies small enough to hold in your hands. They lay in shredded paper. I see the store clerk whispering to another one of the workers.

There are signs on the cages. Some say 'full bred' and then the breed of the animal, and some say 'mixed' and the breeds and some say 'big full bred' or 'big little bred'. I walk around, looking at the puppies. Peeta keeps his hand in mine. "I used to have a dog. He died when he was five." I admit to Peeta.

"Really?"

"Yes. I named him bow. Like my bow and arrows. He hunted with me and everything…then…one day, a coyote came out of nowhere and I wasn't prepared…" I don't finish my sentence.

"I'm sorry." He whispers.

"You don't have to apologize." I mutter.

"Did you kill it?"

"Well…yes. I killed the coyote. There was no way bow was going to live and he was lying there howling…" I shudder. "I put him out of his misery."

"Did you bury him?"

"Yes, in my backyard."

"At your parents' house in Kentucky?"

"Yes. I was only ten years old. It was the first time I went hunting without my dad. I didn't go alone again for another six months…that was the first time I got a deer on my own. That's what built my confidence."

"What did you do with the coyote?"

I bite my lip. "I lit a fire and threw it in." I admit quietly. He looks shocked. "What? I was upset and angry. I killed it and burnt it and I don't regret it."

"I don't blame you."

"Now I kill every coyote."

"I don't blame you." he says again. I look at a sleeping puppy that is curled with another sleeping puppy. Both are mixed dogs, a Beagle and a Yorkshire terrier with caramel colors and dark brown, almost black colors all over her tiny body. The other dog is white all over except for over the eyes and the ears, which is caramel. "What kind of dog was Bow?" he asks.

"A Siberian Husky."

"Oh." He looks down at the sleeping puppies.

"Excuse me?" one of the workers walks over to me.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Are you Katniss Everdeen?" she looks so hopeful.

"Yes." I smile.

"Oh my god!" she puts her hand over her heart. "I told you, Elizabeth!" she looks at the girl behind the counter.

Elizabeth has always been my favorite name.

I realize that there is a sign on the door of the store that says to come now because they're being foreclosed on. "You guys are getting foreclosed on?" I ask. Both of their faces fall and Elizabeth walks away.

"It's my sisters puppy place." She points at the door Elizabeth just walked in to. "And she doesn't have the money." She runs her hands over her face. "It's sad, really. All these animals are going to the pound.

Suddenly, I'm blasted back in time.

"_Mommy, what did the person mean when we were getting Bow?" my six year old self asks my mother. _

"_What do you mean sweetie?" Mom asks, setting my lunch in front of me. _

"_I mean, why did she say that we got him just in time?" _

"_Well," she sits down in front of me. "When animals are in the pound…they kill them when they run out of space. Bow was taking up space, and if we got there ten minutes later, they would have killed him." _

_I'm silent for a long time. "Mommy when I grow up I'm going to keep puppies from getting hurt. Puppies don't hurt nobody." _

"_Anybody, puppies don't hurt anybody. And honey…I hope you succeed. You're right. Puppies don't deserve to be hurt." Then she kisses my head and go off to get my newborn sister and feed her. _

"Let me pay the fine." I blurt.

"What?"

"I said let me pay the fine."

"Um…I can't let you do that." She starts shaking her head.

"I can't let these dogs go to the pound." Peeta, Rye and Graham are watching me in confusion.

"Why not?"

"Because when I was six I got a puppy named Bow and if I got there five minutes later the people at the pound were going to put them down. These animals are not hurting anybody and I'm not about to let them go to the pound to be killed. And your sister must have worked really hard to get this place up and running."

"I don't know…Elizabeth!" Her sister walks from the back of the store.

"What Christi?" she asks.

"She wants to pay the fine." She says.

Her sisters eyes widen. "I can't let you do that." She shakes her head.

"I want to." I insist. "Please?" Peeta, Rye and Graham are whispering about me and I don't even care.

"I don't know…" she trails off.

"Please?" I ask again.

"It's expensive! It's like ten thousand dollars!"

"I don't care how much it is!"

"I can't let you spend ten thousand dollars-"

"I have over four million and I'm releasing an album which is bound to bunp me up to at _least_ ten million. You have to let me do this. I'm not asking anymore, I'm tell you I'm doing this."

The two sisters exchange a look. "It's ten thousand dollars…" she bites her lip.

"I'll be back in ten minutes."

…..a…..

"Katniss…" Peeta hesitates as I take a million dollars out of the bank.

"Don't you dare try and talk me out of this!" I snap. He puts his hands up.

"I'm not, I just…" he hesitates again. "I want those two puppies really badly." I stuff the money in my purse.

"What two puppies?" I ask.

"The two mixed ones that were caramel and one had white too and the other had dark brown."

"The Beagle and Yorkshire terriers?" I ask.

"Yes. I've always wanted a puppy but Mom would never allow it because it was '_unsanitary to have dogs living above a bakery._'"

"So let's get two puppies." I walk out of the bank.

His eyes light up like a lightning bolt in a tropical storm. "Seriously?" he asks.

"Yes baby." I start walking down the street and the three boys jog to catch up with me.

"Slow down." Peeta says. Rye picks me up and puts me on his shoulders. Peeta gives him an annoyed look and reaches up, grabs my hips and lifts me off of Rye and onto his own back. "She's my fiancé, Rye. Not yours."

Rye shoots Peeta a pissed off glance and ends up running into a girl with wavy red hair and green eyes who is holding the hand of a young girl who just looks downright annoyed. "Please Aunt Alexis; I really want to get a puppy!"

"Megan, you are going t have to talk to your Mommy about that." The girl replies. Then, she looks up and Rye and smiles.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention.

"No, no it's my fault." Rye says. His eyes are wide and he's staring at the girl. Peeta sets me down.

"Hey, you know who you look like?" she asks.

"Who?"

"You look like Katniss Everdeen's fiancé."

"That's my brother." Rye points at Peeta and the girl turns around.

The little girl, Megan lets out a scream and gives me a big hug. "Hi Katniss!" she squeals. I laugh.

"Hi Megan."

"How do you know her name?" the girl who I am assuming is named Alexis asks me.

"You just called her Megan." I smile. I like the fact that she did not treat me differently.

"Um…I'm sorry for running into you. I was messing around with Peeta here and I guess I wasn't paying attention. I'm really sorry." Peeta and I exchange a look.

"What's your name?" the girl asks, peeling her niece off of my legs.

"I'm Rye." He says. "What's yours." He sticks his hand out like he's being _formal_ and she smiles and shakes his.

"I'm Alexis." She says.

"Nice to meet you…" his face turns red and I look at Graham who is bug-eyed and staring at Alexis' chest. I kick him in the shin when nobody is looking and he looks at me in outrage and I shoot him a _stop staring_ look, and he looks away.

Then I zone back in on Rye and Alexis' conversation. "Hey, do you want to go get coffee or something?" Rye is rubbing the back of his neck like crazy and I realize that this is not only Peeta's nervous habit, this is a Mellark nervous habit.

Alexis looks down at her niece. "Do you want to go get a snack?" she asks.

"Okay!" she starts jumping up and down. Rye looks at us and Graham takes a step forward like he's going with them, and so does Peeta.

"We're going to the store." I say. "Have fun." Then I grab both Graham and Peeta's shirts and practically drag them away from Alexis, Rye and Megan.


	19. Chapter 19

PEETA'S POV

It's one in the morning and Katniss is sleeping on the couch. One puppy, her's the white and caramel one which she naked Lucky, is sleeping, curled up in her shirt, against her stomach. I just woke up to movement and I saw my puppy, Lexi, the brown and caramel one moving onto my chest. Katniss's hand is limply in mine and her lips are parted slightly, her eyelids fluttering because she's dreaming. Lucky stands up and walks out of her shirt, shakes, yawns and then moves and uses her boobs as a pillow. Katniss moves her arm, the one not holding my hand on top of her dog. "Peeta?" she mumbles. She's hardly awake and whatever she's about to say, she isn't going to remember when she wakes up.

"Hmm?" I ask.

"I just want you to know I love you." she squeezes my hand.

"I love you, too." I shift my head to kiss her forehead.

Her breathing shallows and she's back to sleep in seconds.

I'm soon to follow.

…..a…..

KATNISS'S POV

Peeta's gone when I wake up and I'm honestly upset. Every time I wake up in the mornings, he isn't home, and I know it's just because he's working, so I suck it up, put the puppies on their leashes and take them out to the little backyard and let them play. They go to the bathroom and I clean their poop and kick snow over the pee. Then I get a towel and dry them off and set them free to play. I feed them and sit on the counter in Peeta's shirt and watch them. I hear the front door slam and I get hopeful it's Peeta, but it's not, it's Rye. He doesn't make a sexual comment about how I'm not wearing a bra or pants. He opens the fridge and starts making breakfast for the both of us.

"I think I'm in love." He says.

"Told you." I run my hands over my face.

"We talked for hours. We talked so long that Alexis's sister, Lauren, came and picked up her kid. She didn't even complain about having to pick her up, she looks ecstatic, like she's glad her sister was talking to me. Her name is Alexis Olivia Peterson and I called her by her first and middle name and she's beautiful and she smiles a lot and she's so careful and sweet and kind and her eyes are like the ocean and dammit Katniss, I'm fucking in love with her!" I give him a sleepy smile.

"It's like a repeat of Peeta and I meet. I was walking down the street, we ran into each other, I got him a new shirt, he took me to get coffee and he called me by my first and middle name we talked for hours."

"And I got her number and she said she likes Me." he hands me a plate of eggs and toast and bacon and hops on the counter next to me, shoveling his mouth. I hear the front door slam again and this time, it's Peeta who walks into the house.

"How'd it go with Alexis?" he asks, kissing my cheek and starting coffee. Rye begins to rant about her again and I smile.

"It sounds like when Kat and I first met."

"That's what I told him."

"All I'm gonna say is…don't rush it and don't push her. She probably isn't very comfortable around guys, judging by how her sister reacted to her speaking to you. That's what I did with Kat and look where it got Me." he gestures to me. "Engaged to the most beautiful person that ever, or will ever exist." He kisses my forehead and I swat at his hand.

"Bull." I say.

"Bull nothing." He snickers.

"Well the second most beautiful," Rye says.

"That's a matter of opinion, but mine is right." Peeta says.

"No-"

"Don't fight." I say. "You two fight over the stupidest things."

Peeta makes me and Rye and himself coffee and hands it to us. "Thanks." Rye says.

"Yeah, thanks." I say.

"No problem." Peeta takes my empty plate and Rye's empty plate and puts them in the dishwasher and then sits down beside me on the counter. "Rye you do know that we're moving back to California, right?"

"That's another thing! She's not from here! She lives in L.A. but she's only visiting for Christmas! She sings!"

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes!" he grins.

"God, this is just creepy." I say.

"I'm moving to L.A." Rye blurts.

"Of course you are." Peeta grins.

"What? Are you seriously going to make fun of me for-"

"No, I would do the exact same thing. Even if I was still engaged to _it_ I would still move to L.A."

We're silent for a couple of minutes. "I should call my mom." I take a sip of my coffee. "I haven't talked to anyone since I left."

"That was like four days ago. Katniss, that's not right." Peeta says.

"I know. I'm sorry." I set my coffee on the counter and walk into the living room and get my phone. It's December twenty first and I don't know what I'm doing about Christmas. I dial my mother but it says the line is disconnected. "Fuck!" I say.

"What?" Peeta demands.

"I forgot to pay my phone bill…" I bite my lip. "I'll be back in a bit."

…a…

"I really like Rye." Alexis admits. I've been here for three hours, even though I took care of the phone problem a while ago and they're all four up and running again. "I think I love him."

I ran into her here and we've been walking around the city for a bit together.

"He really, really likes you, too." I admit.

"How do I tell him?" she asks.

I'm quiet for a while. "Just tell him. Just say 'I think I'm falling in love with you.'"

"I'm not good with words." She admits. I turn to face her.

"He said you can sing. That you live in L.A."

"Yes…" she trails off.

"Just do what I did." I shrug. "I suck at words. I did a cover of enchanted and look where it got me?" I show her the ring. "Just record a song."

"But you have to get permission." She says. "And I'm terrified of what he's going to say and I'm trying to hide it…that I like him so much because I just met him yesterday."

I did get permission from Taylor Swift but I never talked to her, my boss did that for me. "True…" I trail off. "I know what song you could do." I admit.

"What song?"

"I think I'm falling for you by Colbie Calliat."

"I love that song!" she says. "But there is no way I would be able to get permission from her…"

"I can probably get in contact with her. She follows me on twitter. I can PM her…" I trail off.

"Would you do that?"

"Yes. I would. Rye really likes you, and I like you, so I'm going to help a friend out." I smile. "I'll do it right now." I pull my phone out and go on twitter to Colbie Calliat's profile and PM her.

_Hey Colbie, it's Katniss Everdeen. I know we've never talked before but I need a huge favor. If you could message me back, that would be great. _

"You can't tell Rye…" she bites her lip. It begins to snow.

"I won't tell anyone." I say. "Except maybe Peeta…but he won't tell if I tell him not to…"

"Okay…" we exchange phone numbers and I head home.

…..a…

"Nice of you to finally call," Mom doesn't sound too happy with me.

"Sorry…" I bite my lip.

"Katniss Joy, are you coming home for Christmas?"

"Mom, I don't know what is happening."

"What do you mean?" she asks. "Katniss, I think we deserve to have you for Christmas! Last Christmas you were in a coma!"

"I know Mom, and I'm sorry, but I don't know what's going on."

"Katniss…" she takes a deep breath. "I am fed up with you."

"I'll take to Peeta, alright Mama?" I ask. Peeta looks up at me in concern. Rye left to go see Alexis and now it's just Peeta and I here.

"Fine!" she hangs up on me. I bury my head in my hands.

"What's the matter?" he asks frantically.

"She's pissed at me and she wants me home for Christmas."

FINN'S POV

I feel replaced. I feel so replaced.

Ever since Kitty met Peeta, she only ever hangs out with him. The rest of the family agrees and it isn't fair. We all love Peeta, but she needs to spend some time with us alone, too.

KATNISS'S POV

"How about…" I take a deep breath. "How about I go back to California…and you stay here and-"

"No."

"Let me finish." I plead. "I go back to California and you stay here with your family. You can finish up everything with the bakery and then come to California."

"That could take months, Katniss!" he says.

"I know!" I snap. "But what choice do we have?"

"Fine, but I'm coming back on New Year's Eve." He crosses his arms. "It's either we do that or we do nothing." He says.

"Fine, you can come on New Year's Day, that's perfectly fair."


	20. Chapter 20

"Do you swear on your life that you will call me when you land?" he asks. Two weeks is a long time, and I don't necessarily want to be away from Peeta for that long, but I'll take two weeks over two months.

"I promise." I whisper. Lucky is coming with me because she is mine, and Lexi is staying because she is Peeta's.

"How am I supposed to keep my promise to you that Cato won't ever touch you if I'm not with you?" he whispers. My chin starts to tremble. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean to make you cry." He pulls me into a hug.

"I'll have Finn." I whimper. "And we can call and text and everything."

"And it's only two weeks." He pulls away and wipes my tears. "Two weeks is not that long. We can talk all the time and you can call me when you can't sleep."

"Mm hmm." I mumble. "Two weeks." I kiss him. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He whispers. I walk to the place that leads me to my plane and turn around. I wave at him, and he waves back. And then he's out of my sight.

…..a…..

I hang up the phone with Peeta as I pull up in front of my parents' house. All the families' cars are outside so I know I made the right decision by coming here. I carry Lucky into the house and set her free as I walk into the living room.

"Kitty!" Finn twirls me around.

Honestly, I get why they want me home, and something tells me they are glad Peeta isn't with me, which _really_ pisses me off, but I fake a smile and pretend like I'm not angry with them.

I get they want to spend time with me, and I get that they feel replaced, but they need to realize that I have Peeta and his family too, which are just as much as my family as they are. I should be the one going to New York for New Year's. They got me for Thanksgiving, so it's only fair that Peeta gets me for Christmas.

If they give me shit about being on the phone with Peeta, I know I'm going to snap. "Hi." I say.

"Who's this little girl?" Prim picks up Lucky.

"My dog,"

"You got a puppy?" Mom asks.

"Yes." I say.

"Oh, thanks for letting me know." She says. Everyone shoots her a glare and I know she's going to give me the most shit.

_Oh honey, two can play this game._

I smile. "You're welcome." She looks at me with such an intense glare that it takes every ounce of my willpower not to laugh.

"What breed?" Johanna asks.

"Um, a Beagle and a Yorkshire Terrier mix." I say.

"She's cute." Dad comments.

"Thanks."

Something tells me Mama has drunk a bit. "Did _Peeta_ give you shit about getting the dog?" she asks.

"Lillian." Dad hisses.

"No." I cross my arms. "Why?"

"No reason." She says.

I grit my teeth and I can _feel_ my eyes get three shades of gray darker, but I let the subject drop.

_She's your mother. She's is a grown ass woman. Be nice. _

"I just thought…you know…" she hesitates. "That maybe he's a bit…" she narrows her eyes slightly at the ring on my finger. "Controlling."

"If you're going to give me shit I'll just go home." I say. "I didn't fly all the way out here to deal with your attitude."

Johanna smirks proudly. "Katniss…" Dad sighs. "Don't go."

I say nothing. "I bet he put you up to this." Mom shakes her head.

Why is she being like this?

The one time when I was a kid that she ever got drunk was when I was sixteen after I got raped and she was an absolute bitch to everyone. I remember that day well because it was the day after I got raped. I got put on the pill, which probably stopped Cato's baby from growing in me, and she was upset, so she drank. "How many beers have you had?" I blurt.

"Don't ask me that!" she shrieks, standing up.

"I just did." I say. She takes a step towards me, and Lucky looks up from Johanna's lap and snarls.

"Well I think we all know it's true! Your little fiancé is controlling you!"

"You know what, I'm going home until your sober." I grab Lucky. "I shouldn't have fucking left Peeta in the first place." I walk out of the house and get into my car, speeding to my house.

PEETA'S POV

I get a message, and I look down at my phone in concern.

"I wish she didn't have to go." Mom says.

Katniss Joy: _I'm going to kill somebody._

I call her immediately. "She's driving me crazy Peeta, I swear to god." I hear her inhale sharply.

"What happened?"

She begins to rant about how her mother is drunk and she's being a bitch and saying I'm controlling when I'm not and how she wishes she never left and then she cuts off and starts crying. "I shouldn't have fucking left!"

"Okay, Katniss, honey." I sigh. My family is watching me in concern. "Don't cry, just..." I honestly know what to tell her to do. "Just ignore her and don't let her get to you, okay?"

"I-it's not that e-e-easy!" she chokes.

"Katniss; don't cry." I plead.

"I'm sorry!" she sighs again. "I don't want to be here. I'm so close to just flying back to New York."

"Katniss…" she can't do that. I mean…she can, but she can't. If she leaves she's going to make her family mad at her.

"You didn't even fucking do anything!" she shouts. I hear a crash and I flinch.

"Katniss you need to calm down.

"She's fucking stupid! She's fucking a little asshole!" another crash. "I was with them for Thanksgiving anyways!" another crash. "I-" crash, "Don't-" crash. "Want-" crash. "To-" crash, "Be-" crash, "Here!" then a really loud crash sounds and I'm silent for a long time. I can hear her heavy breathing. "Peeta?" she whispers.

"Yes?" I hold my breath.

"I broke the refrigerator with a hammer and the TV is um…it's in the pool."

"Do you feel better?" I ask.

"I want to come home." She says.

"Peet, what the hell is happening?" Justice asks. I put my hand up.

"She'll be back to normal tomorrow, Kat." I assure her.

"I don't want to be here." She says. I hear something else crash. "She's a bitch!" then she starts breaking things left and right.

This goes on for a long time before I hang up. "She's freaking out."

"What happened?" Mom asks.

I explain everything. "And she's still breaking things right now and it's been an hour."

"It's not fair they get her Christmas. We've never had her for Christmas."

"I know Mom." I sigh.

"Well I'm going to California. I want to have our _entire_ family for Christmas, and that's Katniss and her family too." Dad says.

"Me too." Mom says.

And before I know it, everyone is going to California.

This isn't too good.

But I'm going with them.

…..a…..

She's really pissed. I can hear crashing and Finnick trying and Johanna trying to get her to calm down. "No, you two need to shut the fuck up!" Katniss screams at them. I take a deep breath and open the front door.

Everything in sight is broken. The couch, there's a hole in the wall; she's destroyed everything except for the house itself. Finnick and Johanna are pleading with her to calm down. "Dammit, we need Peeta." Johanna says to Finnick.

"I know we do." he crosses his arms. "I mean…I miss spending time with Kitty, but we don't have Kitty without Peeta."

"I fucking hate her!" Katniss tries to kick the wall, but Finnick stops her.

"If you do that, you'll break your foot." He says.

"I don't give a fuck! She's such a little bitch!"

I knew Katniss had a temper, but I didn't know it was one this bad. I watch her. Her skin is red, she's crying, her eyes are black and her hands are in fists. Johanna catches my eye and I can see relief floods her face. Then, she elbows Finnick and he looks at me and looks relived.

"I HATE HER!" She grabs the hammer and starts hammering the wall like crazy, making holes all over. Then she throws the hammer at the window and destroys it, walks out the back door and comes back with the hammer and continues destroying the walls. I walk over to her and take the hammer from her hand. "Hey! You asshole, give that back!" she reaches for the hammer.

"No." I say. "Look what you did." I gesture around the house. "You destroyed everything."

"I don't give a fuck! Give me the hammer!"

"No." I toss it across the room and grab her hand before she can run after it. She glares at me. "You need to stop."

"No!"

"Yes. You know she's wrong. Why are you letting her win?"

"Because I am!"

Mom walks into the house and gasps. "Oh my!" Katniss rips her arm from my grip and sprints for the hammer, grabs it and flings it at the wall.

This time, I watch her screaming swear words and destroy the house. "Someone needs to calm her down." Dad says.

Every eye turns to me. I walk over to Katniss, take the hammer from her hand, pick her up and throw her over my shoulder and ignore her screaming as I walk to the kitchen. I turn on the ice cold water, stand her up, grab the spray nozzle and completely soak her from head to toe in ice cold water.

She stares at me for a long time. "Why are you here?' she asks.

"Are you still pissed off?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Are you going to continue destroying your house?" I ask.

"What are you talking about?" she asks.

"Honey…" I sigh. "Go look around."

She looks at the refrigerator, the stove and the microwave. Then she walks into the living room and I follow her. "I did this?" she asks.

"Yes. You called me and you were ranting, then you started crying and I heard crashes. Then we decided that Christmas isn't Christmas without the whole family and that is you and your family, so we came here and uh…I walked in to you hammering the wall."

She looks around and her voice grows panicked. "Where's Lucky?"

"I closed her in the bathroom to keep you from killing her." Johanna says.

"I can't believe this." She looks around and looks down. "I'm such a fuck up."

"Oh stop that." I say. "No you're not. You just pissed off because you destroyed your house. You are _not_ a fuck up."

"I'm going to the store." She says suddenly.

…a….

She stayed up all night to fix everything. I got up to take a shower at noon and she was still sleeping. Just as I'm pulling on my shirt, I hear her scream. It's not a normal scream, it's a terrified scream, and then Finnick is shouting. I rush downstairs and I see nobody other than Cato standing in the living room right in front of Katniss with her arm in his hand.

Oh hell no. Her scream woke everyone and he obviously hit her because she has a handprint on her cheek. Finnick is shouting at Cato to let her go.

I'm going to fucking kill him.

Before I can even think about stopping, I've punched him in the face so hard he falls to the floor. Johanna takes Katniss to the other room and I swear to god he's about to fall unconscious before Rye rips me off of him. "What'd I tell you? I told you if you got anywhere near her I would kick your fucking ass! Did you think I was kidding?" I try to get out of Rye's grip but Graham helps to hold me back. "You're lucky I didn't fucking kill you when you pinned her against the wall in that fucking restaurant!" Cato stands up. "Get the hell out of this house and never get near her again!"

Haymitch called the police and they're already here as Cato heads to the door. "Peet, if I let you go are you going to kill him?" Rye asks.

"Not in front of the cops." I hiss. Rye and Graham release me. Katniss is forced to come downstairs by the police, but she hides halfway behind me as she talks to them, refusing to go ten feet closer to Cato.

"Why didn't you guys call the police when he raped you when you were sixteen?"

"We did but he got away."

"Have you had sex with anyone since he raped you?" he asks.

"No." she says. The officer looks at me like he's unsure and she sighs. "I haven't."

"Are you sure?"

"I can't have sex till I'm married. Yes, I'm sure." She says, fisting the back of my shirt in her hand.

I'm not even paying attention, I'm glaring at Cato.

"Who beat him?" the cop asks.

"I did. The asshole deserves it."

The cop looks at me, and Cato and then Katniss. "You did it to defend your fiancé, right?"

"Well I'm not going to beat him for no reason."

"Arrêter. Vous allez vous mettre en difficulté." Katniss whispers weakly. (Stop it. You are going to get yourself in trouble.) "Soyez gentil. Après leur départ, vous pouvez tempêter tout ce que vous voulez." (Be nice. After they leave you can rant all you want.)

She's right, of course. I take a deep breath and force myself to calm down.

"And Cato did grab you in a threatening manner?" he asks Katniss.

"Yes." She says.

"Why won't you step out?" the other officer asks.

"I don't want to." She says.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to be anywhere near him." She says.

"I understand." He turns to Cato. "Cato Harris, you are under arrest for sexual assault."

"What? You can't arrest me! I didn't lay a hand on her!"

"_You have_the right to remain silent_.__Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?"_

_"I didn't touch her." He says. Katniss tightens her grip on me. _

_They handcuff him anyways and take him out of the house, shutting the door behind him. I turn around to face Katniss. Her breathing gets heavy, and tears well in her eyes and she turns around and bolts up the stairs. I chase after her and catch the door before she locks it. ""Please just leave me alone for a little while. I'll come downstairs when I'm better." She whispers. _

_I don't like the idea of her crying alone. "Are you sure?" I ask. _

_"Yes." She whispers. I wipe her tears. Then I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and kiss her forehead. _

_"I'll be right downstairs if you need me, okay?" she swallows and then nods. _

_"I love you." she whispers. _

_"I love you too." _

_I go downstairs and instead of sitting down, I pace. _

_The idea of her being up there __alone__ and __crying__…it rips my heart to shreds, but I ignore the pain because she wants to be alone. I know if she wants me up there, she'll call me up there._

_"Peet, I wish you killed him." Rye says. _

_"Me too," Graham says. _

_"Don't say that." Mom says. "You never wish death on anyone. He's gone. He's in jail and he's never coming back. He's sentenced to years and I know they have him under close watch. Don't wish him dead." _

_"I wish I knocked him out, but I don't wish I killed him." _

_"Yes, you can wish that, but never wish you killed somebody. I don't care who it is." _

_"Yeah, don't wish that boys. That's not good." Dad says. _

_We all drift into silence._

_A few hours pass, and I hear a soft click upstairs. I continue pacing. _

_Katniss comes downstairs and walks right to me and hugs me. I stop walking and wrap my arms tightly around her. _

_She doesn't release me for a few moments, but she moves her head to look up at me. "If Rye didn't stop you…would you have killed him?" she whispers. _

_I have to think for a minute. _

_I was so angry that I don't think I would have been able stop if Rye hadn't physically stopped me. "I don't think I would have been capable of stopping." I whisper. _

_"So yes?" she asks. _

_"Yes." _

_I'm afraid she's going to be afraid of me, but instead, she smiles. "Okay." She says. _

_"You're happy about that?" Johanna asks. _

_"Well…I'm not happy he would kill somebody…but…I don't know. He always says he would protect me and he would kill somebody for me…" she lets go of me and turns to her cousin. "I always thought he was just saying that to calm me. I didn't think he actually meant it. Peeta is so kind and gentle to everybody. Who could have even thought he could kill someone?" _

_"You really thought I was just saying that?" I ask._

_"Yes…" she bites her lip. _

_I can tell by the look in her eyes that she is overtired. Lucky comes racing down the stairs with Lexi and they start to play fight. Katniss disappears upstairs and comes back with her laptop. She plops down on the couch and opens it up and starts to play some game, but then she stops and just randomly starts laughing. "What's funny?" Johanna asks. She touches the screen and makes the mark with her fingers._

_"There are bugs in the screen!" she's laughing so hard that she's crying too._

_"She's overtired. She's breaking. She's done this before. It gets more amusing, you just watch." Mrs. Everdeen says. Everyone is laughing at her but still concerned._

_We all watch in concern as Katniss laugh's so hard she looks like she's going to pee herself. _

_"Jesus Kat, are you high? What have you taken?" Rye jokes. _

_She stops laughing, looks at Rye and then bursts into sobs, burying her head in her hands. Prim starts laughing so hard she falls to the floor, gasping for air. _

_"I didn't take anything I promise! Don't call anybody! Don't call anybody I didn't take anything!" she sobs. "I didn't take anything I didn't! I didn't take anything! I didn't take anything!" Prim is gasping for air. _

_"She needs to go to bed." I say. _

_"I didn't take anything!" she looks at her Mom, who is on Facebook. "You…you like Facebook more than you like me!" she starts crying harder and harder. "I didn't take anything!" _

_"Katniss we know you didn't take anything. Rye was just kidding." I say. _

_"I didn't take anything!" she sobs. "I swear I didn't take anything! Peeta, I didn't!" _

_"I know you didn't." _

_Last time she was tired and was really crazy, now she's going from laughing about __bugs in the screen __to crying hysterically about how she didn't take any drugs. "I didn't! I didn't!" she keeps crying and crying and crying, until she can't cry any more tears. _

_Then, after Prim finishes laughing, after we're all done worrying, she closes her laptop and puts it on the coffee table. "I'm tired." _

_That sends Prim into another fit of laughter. _

_"I don't want to go to bed." She says. I lay her down with her head in my lap. _

_"You don't have to." _

_Mom opens her mouth to object but I put my hand up and shake my head. I'll put her to sleep. _

_I begin running my fingers through her hair for a while. "Why was I crying?" she whispers. She's trying to stay awake but I know she's really close to falling asleep. _

_"You're tired." I whisper. _

_"No I'm not." She says, struggling to keep her eyes open. _

_"Okay." I kiss her forehead and continue running my fingers through her hair. After a lot of struggling to stay awake on her part, her eyes glide shut, her breathing shallows and then she's fast asleep. _

_I shift her so her head it's on my lap and then I scoop her into my arms and carry her upstairs. I decide to take her to the master bedroom. I rest her on the fluffy mattress and tuck her in. "Peeta?" he voice is laced with deep tiredness. _

_"Hmm baby?" I ask. _

_"Will you stay with me?" she asks. _

_"Yes. Of course. Always." I take off everything but my boxers and slide into bed next to her. She hands me the remote to the TV as she scoots closer against me. Then she sits up and takes off her shirt and tosses it to the floor, her jeans adding to the pile until she's in just her bra and underwear. _

_"I love you." she mumbles, resting her head over my heart._

_"I love you, too." I rub her back for a little while, and eventually, after I watch an hour and a half of __The Big Bang Theory__, I fall asleep. _


	21. Chapter 21

KATNISS'S POV

Someone is standing in the doorway of the bedroom. Something tells me they have been staring at us for a while. It's my mother. "Katniss Joy, did you two have sex?" she asks.

"No." I mumble, so tired that I can hardly comprehend what she's saying.

"Are you fibbing, young lady?"

"No Mama. We didn't."

"Okay. Well, it's time for dinner. You don't even have a Christmas tree or any cookies. You two need to get up so we can eat and go get ready for the holiday." She walks away. "Be downstairs in ten minutes."

I moan loudly in annoyance. "I don't want to get up!"

"Well do it anyways!"

Peeta sighs and rolls over to face me, practically forcing his eyes open. "What did you say?" he mumbles.

"We have to get up."

He groans. "No." he pulls a pillow over his head.

"Suit yourself." I get up and shower quickly, dress, and braid my hair on my way downstairs.

"Where's Peeta?" Mrs. Mellark asks.

'He's refused to get up." I reply. She stands up and walks off upstairs.

"Get up right now, Peeta Ryan!" she shrieks.

"Why can't Katniss wake me up?" I hear him ask. "She's always nice."

"You have ten minutes to get your lazy ass up before I come up here with ice water!" I hear the bedroom door slam and then Mrs. Mellark walks back downstairs. "Katniss, honey, if he ever refuses to get up, just threaten him with ice water. He'll be down here in five minutes."

Sure enough, five minutes later, I've already eaten, Peeta comes downstairs. "Why did you tell her I wouldn't wake up?" he asks.

"Because you wouldn't get up." I say.

"Don't do that." He's irritated with me.

"Well if you'd gotten up, I wouldn't have had to." I cross my arms.

His eyes darken. "Well-"

"Are you arguing with me?" I raise my eyebrows.

"No." he mumbles.

"That's what I thought. Now go eat."

He looks down at the floor and then walks into the kitchen.

"He listens to you better than he listens to us." Mr. Mellark says.

"No I don't!" Peeta says.

"Stop budding in, Peeta Ryan!" Mrs. Mellark scolds.

"Hell no!" he says.

"Hey!" I walk into the kitchen. "That's your parents you are talking to! Apologize!"

He stares at me for a long time. "I'm sorry." He says.

It's so fun to make him do what I want. I really just do it to tease him.

….a….

We're at a Christmas tree place and we're in a huge group. Peeta keeps giving me this look that makes me blush and look down and he's starting to drive me a bit crazy.

He's purposely making me horny to get payback for me basically controlling him earlier.

And it's working. I bite my bottom lip and I hear him snicker.

"Is there a problem?" he asks loudly so that everyone looks at me. I glare at him and lean up and whisper.

"If you don't cut it out, I swear to god, I will give you the worst boner and leave you to suffer."

He swallows nervously. "Please don't."

"Well then cut it out. You're pressing my limits."

"I'll take care of it tonight, I promise." He whispers.

I grit my teeth. "I'm going to give you a boner."

"No." he pleads.

"Yes."

"Katniss please no. I'll stop, I promise."

I ignore him and give my entire attention to everyone but him.

After we get the tree, we go to the mall and do shopping. Peeta tries desperately to get my attention, but I keep acting like he isn't here.

Rye gasps suddenly and Graham, Justice and Kegan start whispering hurriedly. The four boys then race over to me and Peeta. "Dude, Jennifer Lawrence is over there!" Rye says, pointing across the store to the back of a girl who is texting on her phone. I recognize her immediately. "

"No shit!" I say.

"What do you mean?" Peeta asks.

"Jen!" I say. She whips around. Then, her eyes widen and she grins.

"Katniss!"

She walks towards me and I meet her halfway and pull her into a hug. "How are you?" I ask.

"I'm great!" She says. "But you...first you lose your man and now the whole world knows about Cato." She shakes her head. "Did you get to at least talk to Peeta though?" She asks.

"Oh, he's right there!" I point at Peeta, who seems frozen in place.

"Oh, you made up! That's grand!" She claps her hands.

"Yes." I smile.

"So you literally woke up to Cato standing there?"

"Well I haven't told Peeta yet but I woke up with his hand on my breasts...that was why I screamed. Then, he grabbed my wrist and was going to take me but Finn woke up. Then Peeta beat the shit out of him." I bite my lip. Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with both hands.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. But be quiet." I gesture to Peeta.

"Right." She nods. "Well I have to get going. Give me your number." She fiddles on her phone from a moment and hands it to me. I set myself as a contact and hand it back.

...9...

"Peeta?" I ask while we're all decorating.

"Yes?" He puts his arm around my shoulder.

"I need to talk to you."

He looks suspicious like in going to torture him. "Okay." He follows me upstairs.

When I've locked the door to the master bedroom, I turn to him. "I didn't wake up with Cato the way that everyone thinks I did." I look down at the door. He steps closer to me. "I woke up with his hand...it was on my breasts..." I bite my lip. "That's why I screamed. He grabbed my wrist because he was going to take me somewhere. If Finn hadn't woken up..." I hesitate. "That's why I didn't let you into the room...I was afraid of you at the time...I knew you wouldn't hurt me, but I needed some time."

"I won't hurt you." He says.

"I know. I know that. I was just being stupid."

"Why didn't you tell the police? Why didn't you tell me?"

I shrug. "I'm sorry." I whisper. He doesn't say anything. "But um...you still don't have any boundaries...I just want you to know that you don't have to back off..." His eyes are cold and hard, I realize. "I um...I'm going outside for a few minutes to calm down...just-just stay here and don't bother me please." He gets up and walks away, and the back door slams behind him.

I stare after him. I can hear my families happy laughter downstairs.

I don't want to be alone. I stand up and go downstairs.

"Where's Peeta?" Finn asks.

"Outside." I mumble.

"Why?" He asks, his eyes growing concerned.

"He's..." I bite my lip. Johanna comes up next to Finn.

"What's wrong?" She asks. Quietly, I explain how I actually woke up.

"Well shit." Finn says.

"And now Peeta's upset I didn't tell him."

"Well Brainless...I sort of see why he's upset." Jo says.

"I know." I frown.

"We need to put the lights on the house!" Mom says. This is her favorite part of Christmas.

"Well I don't have a ladder." I admit.

"Oh, you don't need one!" Finn says. He picks me up suddenly and rushes out front. Everyone follows excitedly and I gasp as Finn lifts me up onto the roof of the house.

PEETA'S POV

I know I have no right to be mad at her. She got raped by that man-boy, and it's only logical that she wouldn't want to tell anyone right away.

I'm not even really mad at her, I'm pissed at Cato.

KATNISS'S POV

Mom tosses the lights up to me. "I don't know how to do this!" I say. Finn tosses Johanna up with me and she helps me. Together, we string the house. Johanna starts singing song stupid Christmas song that she's making up as she goes, which makes me realize how much I've missed her and Finn.

So the three of us start singing some song. We all are pitching in parts as we go and it doesn't make any sense, but everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.

I just wish Peeta would come out and not be mad at me, but he isn't going to, so I deal with it.

In sync, the three of us finish the song. "And Rudolph saved the day!" I hear yapping from the window to my bedroom and I look over at it and see Lucky and Lexi yapping away with us.

Mom plugs in the lights, and they work which makes us cheer.

"Alright Kitty, jump!" Finn shouts up at me.

"Okay." I walk to the edge of the roof and jump off. I land swiftly on my feet.

Jo jumps next to me and lands easily.

"Let's go make cookies!" Everyone goes back into the house. I don't participate in this because I don't know how to cook. Jo and Finn stand with me in the living room.

"Well that's just stupid." Johanna says.

"No it isn't! If you want to go skydiving, and you don't have a plane but you have a parachute, it's only logical that you jump off of a skyscraper!"

"Finn, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard." I say. Jo and I start laughing at his frustrated expression.

"No it isn't!"

"When you skydive, you drift really far from the place you jumped from! You'll smash into another building!" Jo says.

"Or land on the highway and get ran over!" I interject.

"Exactly! Your bound to end in disaster!" Jo says.

"No! You won't die!" Finn insists.

"How? Give me a logical explanation of how you won't die." I say. Arms wrap around me from behind and I don't even have to turn around to know who it is.

"A logical explanation..." Finn trails off.

Peeta places a soft kiss on my shoulder and then releases me, moving to stand beside me. "A logical explanation for what?" Peeta asks.

"He thinks you can skydive off of a skyscraper if you don't have a plane." Johanna rolls her eyes.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Peeta says.

"That's what we're saying!" I exclaim.

"You'll smash into a building or get hit by a car or land in the ocean."

"And he thinks it's okay to do in New York City." I add.

That makes him laugh. "Finnick, there is no logical way to jump off a building and live." Peeta says. "Especially not in New York."

"There has to be!" He insists.

"Let's ask Siri." I say.

"Good idea!" He takes my phone from my hand and asks Siri.

Her web search says that it is committing suicide.

"Told you!" I say.

He rolls his eyes. "Whatever."

"Man, I want to go zip lining." Johanna says.

"And I want to learn to surf." Peeta says.

"I want to go boating."

They all look at me. "I want to swim with dolphins."

Then all of us start laughing loudly. "That was fucking random!" Johanna says.


	22. Chapter 22

"I got a new magazine!" Johanna walks into the house. Christmas Eve is tomorrow. "Katniss, why didn't you tell us you were expecting a baby!" she drops a magazine on my lap and I'm on the cover.

It says _Katniss Everdeen PREGNANT_

"Where do they come up with this stuff?" I sigh sharply and flip open the cover.

"What does it say?" Peeta asks.

"It says I'm pregnant because…" I flip to the article. "Oh wow." I shake my head in annoyance. "I had Lucky with me when we were going back to the car. Someone asked how old she was and I said she was only like three months. They completely twisted the story so I am three months pregnant."

"Wow, they really do twist the words." I sigh, irritated.

"Oh, apparently, Peeta is not the father." Johanna leans over my shoulder to point to a paragraph.

"Read it out loud." Mom says.

"After investigating further, we got Katniss to spill that she has been sleeping around. Although Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen are already secretly married-"

"We are?" Peeta asks.

"I guess so." I snicker. "-Katniss is pregnant with someone else's baby and she plans to wait until she's going to start showing to announce to the world that she is having a baby with her husband's brother, Rye Mellark."

"Baby Mama!" Rye starts cheering.

"Hell yeah!" I start cheering with him, and we're all laughing. "OK magazine is anxiously waiting Peeta Mellark's reaction to his wife sleeping around with his brothers. Who knows how many STD's Katniss has." I burst out laughing. "Oh god, this is just too good!" I wipe away my tears. "Peeta, man, I cheated on you!"

"Why would you do that?"" he jokes. "With my own brother!"

"I'm sorry! I was horny and you know…things happened!"

"That's not right!" Peeta shakes his head.

…..a…..

It's nighttime. I'm sleeping in my own bed because the family is really giving us a hard time.

I can't sleep. I flip through the channels and then sigh and shut off the TV, throw the covers off of me and go across the hall to Peeta's room. He's not sleeping, either. I shut the door and lock it behind me. "Sleeping is impossible." I crawl across the bed and sit down next to him.

"I know." He agrees. "I've missed you." I'm in a tight tank top with no bra on and a pair of basketball shorts. I notice how his eyes flick to my chest for a moment and then back to my face.

"You could have come in." I whisper.

"I know that." He takes my hand. "Do you want to know something?" he whispers.

"What?" I brush blond wisps off his forehead.

"I love you."

I smile. "I love you too."

I lean down and capture his lips with mine.

I love kissing him like this, when it's slow and gentle and full of love. It's not fast and crazy like all we want to do is get our clothes off. He sits up and pulls me closer to him, deepening the kiss and pulling away for a moment to breathe. "I love you." he says again.

My eyes flicker down to his lips and back to his eyes as I smile, resting my hand on the back of his neck. "I know. I love you, too." I look at his lips again and then back into his eyes before pulling his lips against mine.

It's so slow and careful and gentle.

…..a…

"Kat," Peeta shakes my shoulder. "You need to put clothes on right now." He whispers. "They're about to pick the lock." His voice is urgent. I pull my tank top over my head and put on my panties and my basketball shorts. He pulls on boxers and sweats and we act like we're sleeping.

"If they had sex, don't shun them. They're fucking engaged." Johanna says.

"They shouldn't be having sex!" Mom insists. Johanna opens the door. Peeta and I don't move.

"See? They're wearing clothes." Johanna whispers. "You guys overreact."

"They need to get up anyways." Mom says.

"Why?" Johanna asks.

"Because they do," Mom insists. I feel two things hit the bed and then Lucky is licking the shit out of my face.

I moan loudly. "Stop." I push Lucky and she comes right back, pawing at my face and licking the hell out of me. I roll over and fall right off the bed, taking the dog and the covers with me. "Ow…" I moan again.

Peeta's laughter hits my ears.

"Shut up." I groan. Lucky gets up and starts licking me again.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks, laughing so hard he can hardly breathe as he grabs my waist and lifts me off the floor.

"Why do we have to get up?" I wrap the blankets around me.

"Because you do." Then mom walks out of the room, taking Johanna with her.

…a….

When I go downstairs after my shower, everyone is awake and I'm the last one down here. Everyone is looking at me like I'm crazy. "Kat?" Peeta asks. "Where are your pants?" I look down to see I forgot my pants.

"Um…" I bite my lip. "I'll be right back." I run upstairs and pull my jeans on over my underwear and go back downstairs.

"Did you forget your pants or purposely not put them on?" Peeta asks.

"I forgot." I mumble.

"I say we teach Kat to make cookies." Prim says.

"I say we make her do them herself. They can't be _that_ bad." Peeta says.

"Um…I'm opposed."

"Well you're doing it anyways." Peeta says. "Just follow the box."

…a…

"Peeta, I can't do this!" I whine. He walks into the kitchen and starts laughing. "It's not funny!" I throw flour in his face and he starts laughing harder.

"Katniss…honey…" he takes a deep breath. "How did it get green?"

"I wanted to make them pretty." I look down.

"Kat…how much food coloring did you put in there?"

"The whole thing..." I bite my lip. "Is that bad?"

He wipes his face off. "You're doing great. Just keep going." He walks away and I hear him whispering to our family and I feel my anger rise as they all start laughing. I dump the carton of eggs in the bowl and smash them and then mix it. Then I add the bag of flour and all the sugar, mix it and put them on the cookie tray, shove them in the oven and press random buttons until it says its cooking.

Then we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And then the fire alarm starts going off. Peeta walks into the kitchen and opens the oven. "Shit. Katniss, what the hell are these?"

"I told you I couldn't do it!"

"Katniss…" he sounds like he's trying desperately not to laugh.

"I'm going out." I stand up, grab my purse and phone, put my shoes on and storm out of the house.

…..a…..

He's called me at least fifty times. I don't care. I'm just walking with my hands in my jacket pockets. I have a ton of texts from him, apologizing and begging me to come home. It's not fair. They know I can't cook and they make me do it anyways and then laugh at me. It's downright embarrassing. I walked because my keys weren't in my purse.

"Why'd you do it?" Someone asks me. I look up at the girl, she's my age, my height, but blonde with green eyes.

"Do what?"

"Have sex with Peeta's brother."

"I didn't have sex with Peeta's brother. I'm not pregnant and we're not even married yet."

"Really?" she looks surprised.

"Yes."

"Why do you look upset?"

"Because I am." I walk away.

I find myself on the beach, my knees pulled to my chest. He calls me again, and this time, I answer. "Katniss?" he asks.

"What?" I drop my head onto my knees.

"Look, I know I was a jerk and I'm sorry. It was rude and uncalled for. Please come home."

"I don't want to come home."

"Where are you?" he asks. I'm quiet for a while. "Kat?" he sounds frustrated and angry and upset.

"I'm in LA." I hang up on him.

….a….

I'm drawing in the sand when someone comes and sits down next to me. "You're a whore, you know that, right?" I look up at the person. I've never met him. He has black hair and blue eyes. "You have such a nice guy, but you go and fuck around. You're a whore."

"I didn't have sex with anybody! That's fake!"

"Sure it is. You went and fucked around." He shakes his head. "I could kill you. I have a knife in my pocket. That would kill your baby."

"I'm not pregnant!"

"Don't lie." He says.

"Dude, just back the fuck off." Another guy says. I don't know him. He has dark skin and dark brown eyes. He is tall and buff and probably my age. "You know the damn media makes up shit. Leave her alone."

"Who the hell are you?" the guy who's being an ass snaps.

"A person." He says. "And there's a way to talk to a person, and that's not it. Now get away from the lady."

"And if I don't?" he snaps.

"I beat your ass." The man crosses his arms. The guy looks at me and stands up. He walks away and I stand up. "Hi, I'm Thresh." He sticks his hand out.

"Um…" I shake it. "Hi."

"He's just an asshole." He shakes his head in disapproval. "Anyways, you seem nice. I know that garbage is fake."

"Yeah…" I look down at the sand.

"Where's Peeta?" he steps closer to me.

"He's um…" I wish he was here. This man seems nice but I still don't trust men. Peeta was the only person who pushed his way into my walls. "He's…not here."

He takes another steps closer to me and I swallow and back up. "I'm not going to hurt you." he smiles.

"Um…" I look down. "I have to go." I walk away. I go to the other side of the beach and sit down.

Peeta Ryan: _kat, please come home. _

Peeta Ryan: _or at least tell me where you are. I can't keep my promise if I'm not with you. I don't even know where you are. Please tell me. I love you. _

I guess I am being childish.

Me: _I'm at the beach._

I don't get a reply.

…a….

I'm drawing swirls in the sand. Someone who must have been sitting next to me for a long time reaches out and grabs my wrist. I panic and pull away, and look up. "Oh." I let out a breath. "It's you." I go back to my swirls.

"I know I shouldn't have laughed."

"I know I shouldn't have left. We were both wrong."

"You weren't wrong to leave." He frowns.

"Well it feels like I was wrong to leave."

"Well…" he tilts my chin up to meet his eyes. "You weren't."

My bottom lip begins to tremble as I wipe away my swirls, tears dripping into the sand. He moves in front of me and takes my face gently in his hands. What's wrong?" he wipes away my tears.

"T-this guy…everything thinks I'm a whore."

"Oh baby, don't listen to them." He kisses my cheeks.

"But it's true. I had sex with someone other than you."

"No you didn't. You didn't want that. That wasn't sex."

I look at him in pure annoyance. "But it still happened! We can't just act like it never happened because it did, and like it or not, I'm not a virgin anymore! I can't save myself for-" his lips smash against mine, cutting me off mid-sentence. I start to pull away but he deepens the kiss.

I can't resist him. My eyes flutter closed and I start kissing him back, moving my hand to the back of his neck to pull him closer and fisting his hair in my hand.

When I feel his trying to get me to lay down, I practically rip my lips away from his. "Peeta, we're in public." I whisper. He opens his eyes and looks around.

"Right…" he bites his lip. "Let's go home."

…..a…..

I don't help with cooking dinner. We have spaghetti and meatballs that the Mellark's make homemade. I get my holiday plates that are white with mistletoe on the edges. Mom and Effie jump in to help me. I set the plates on the counter and get my white tablecloth with green and red stripes on the edge. All of these things were given to me by Mom. Mom and Effie help me set the table, and then I go out to the garage to get the other table for the kids. We set that too. "Baby?" I ask.

"Yeah?" he doesn't turn around.

"How many of these things do we need?" I ask. He looks over his shoulder. I have the fabric things that you put under hot pots.

"Um, three." He says.

"Okay." I open the drawer and get three of them, one white, one pink and one purple. Rye is turning around with a bowl of cold water for him to give to Mrs. Mellark and we bump right into each other, splashing cold water all down the front of my dress.

His mouth opens the closes three times. "Oh god, I'm sorry." He says.

"It's fine." I brush past him and lay the hot things on the table. "Babe?" I ask.

"Yes?" he doesn't turn around again.

"Do we need butter?"

"Yes, and a bowl for gravy, and for the cranberry sauce." He looks around. "And for vegetables."

"Okay." I get everything he tells me.

"Kat can you bring the bowl for the gravy here?" he asks. I grab it off the table and move beside him. He plants a kiss on my cheek. "Thanks." He tables the bowl from my hand.

"Welcome," I reply. "I'll be right back."

"What happened to your dress?" he asks.

"I bumped into Rye." I job upstairs and take off the wet dress and put on a white one and a red belt and red heels and then take the red dress and go down to the laundry room and put it in there. Then I brush my hair out of its braid and go back to the kitchen. Peeta is just setting the thing on ham on the table when I walk in.

"Dinners ready!" he calls.

"Go wash your hands!" I add, washing my hands in the sink and drying them on a towel. Peeta washes his hands after me and everyone comes in and takes their seats.

After we've got everything on our plates, we say grace and then dig in.

We're silent for the most part, and I notice Finn staring at me. "What?" I ask.

"It's just hard to believe that a year ago today we didn't know if you were going to live or not." He shakes his head.

"You know, I was just thinking that." Mom says.

"Let's think of something pleasant." I mumble.

We're silent, trying to think of something. "Santa comes tonight!" Audrey says. "We have to put out cookies and milk and we have to not light the fireplace!"

"That's right." Aunt Jessica smiles.

"And tomorrow is Jesus's birthday!" Madison says, swinging her legs.

I start getting this weird feeling. It's in my gut.

Something in my mind is screaming at me that by the time next Christmas comes, I'm going to be pregnant. I'm going to be pregnant, married, and we're not going to live in California, we're going to live in New York, but moving to…I don't know, some other state.

"Kat?" Peeta waves my hand in front of my face. I snap my eye up to his and shake my head.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright? You just…" he bites his lip.

"You spaced out or something and you were staring at your food with your eyebrows scrunched up in concentration." Finn says.

"I just…" I frown. "I got a weird feeling, is all."

"Like what?" Mom asks.

"Um…" I take the last bite of my food. "It's just…" I shake my head. "Not important."

Johanna cackles. "Bull."

"Well I just…" I sigh. "I just feel like…" I sigh again.

"Like what?" Peeta asks.

"I got a weird feeling…" I bite my lip.

"And?" Jo leans forward.

"It's like…I'm going to be pregnant next year or something." I look down and fiddle with the hem of my dress. "It was weird."

"Is that all?" Peeta clearly knows that isn't all.

"And married and we're going to live in New York but we'll be in France for Christmas. Whatever, it's probably bullshit." I stand up and start clearing the table of empty plates.

"Well that was random." Mom says.

"I know." I start washing dishes, and Peeta gets a cloth and helps me dry.

"What if it does happen?" he asks.

"Then…" I bite my lip. "I guess it's not technically a bad thing." I look at him.

"I suppose so…" he says. All the adults start helping us clean up. Peeta's acting weird. He's acting quiet.

I'm terrified I've said something wrong. I keep quiet, and after putting the cookies for everyone on the table for them to snack on, I sit down on the couch. Peeta sits down next to me. The kids are watching The Polar Express.

Finn plops down next to me. "Maybe your Raven, Kitty."

"Raven?" I repeat.

"You know, Raven Symone, from that TV show? You know, she can see the future!"

"Oh stop that." I swat at his hand.

Everyone comes in the living room and sits down to watch Christmas movies. I get up and go into the kitchen and put away the rest of the cookies and take off the table clothes and take the second table down. I'm just about to lug the table to the garage with Peeta comes in and takes it. I finish wiping everything down and he walks back into the kitchen, leans against the counter and shoves his hands in his pockets. His eyes follow my every move. "What?" I whisper.

"I just…" he hesitates. "We've never talked about kids." He whispers. "I didn't know you wanted them."

"Well…" I shrug.

"Kat?" Prim asks. I walk into the living room.

"Yes?"

"Come and watch the movie." She pats the spot next to her. I run my hand through my hair and sit down next to her.

She leans her head against my arm. Peeta comes into the living room and sits down in the only open seat across the room from me.

Around nine, Jessica and Aunt Annabella start putting their kids to bed. Lucky walks into the room and hops onto my lap. Lexi goes to Peeta. We finish three movies before Mom decides everyone needs to go to bed.


	23. Chapter 23

At five in the morning I'm getting screamed awake.

I fell asleep on the couch after Mom said we needed to go to bed, and as I recall, Peeta was asleep too, so everyone slept downstairs last night. I move my head all around on my arms and try and block out some noise. I'm fallen to the side and my head was in Finn's lap, who slept sitting up. Prim used me as a pillow. Groans from all around the room hits my ears. The kids are all up, hitting everyone with pillows, screaming for us to get up. I force my eyes open and see the sun isn't even up yet.

"What time is it?" I mumble.

"Too early," Finn mutters.

"It's only four thirty." Peeta says

There is only one thing I can do in the kitchen, and that's make coffee. I trudge to the kitchen and turn the light on. "It's too early!" Rye groans.

"When you grow up in the middle of nowhere and wake up at four in the morning every damn day for your whole life to take care of the damn crops and get dinner on the table, you get over four thirty in the morning." I say.

I hear Dad chuckle. "That's my girl."

I hear a horn outside, which makes me groan and say, "God I miss the horses and no cars."

"I miss the country." I hear Prim agree.

"I've never ridden a horse before." Peeta admits. I pour myself a giant cup of coffee and walk into the living room.

"Really?" I ask, sitting down next to him and taking a long sip of my hot beverage.

"Yes."

The kids start opening their gifts and everyone seems all excited and I love today so much. Peeta takes my coffee from my hand and I'm not paying attention. A few minutes later, he hands it back to me, and I go to take a sip and I don't get anything. "You drank my coffee." I say.

"Sorry…" he hesitates. "I'll go make you more."

"It's fine." I sigh.

The kids are done opening gifts. "Katniss come here." Dad says. I stand up and go to put my coffee on the table but Peeta takes the cup and walks away. Then he comes back with a full cup and holds it. "Okay…when we moved from Kentucky, what was that one thing that made you really upset?"

"My bow and arrows were left in the forest." I reply.

"Right." He says. "Well…when you were in New York I flew out to Kentucky and…" he pulls his hands out from behind his back and there is my bow and arrows.

"Oh my god." I take them from him. "Thank you." I hug him, careful not to stab him.

"And I got you this." Finn tosses me a huge target that is thick that my arrows can't go through.

"Well let's put that shit on the wall and see if you're as good as everyone says." Rye says.

Peeta sets me coffee on the table and disappears again. Then he comes back with a nail and a hammer and he hammers a nail in the wall. I hang the target.

"I bet you Katniss three hundred dollars you'll miss." Rye crosses his arms.

"Don't waste your money. I don't need it."

"Yes but you'll be giving me the money anyways." Rye sounds so confident.

"Oh no she won't." Dad walks over to the target and stands right against it. "Don't kill me." he says.

"Oh god I can't watch this." Mrs. Mellark says. I load my bow and pull the string back. Dad doesn't look nervous at all. He points to the spot he wants me to shoot. I release the arrow and it hits the exact spot he pointed to.

"Damn." Peeta says. "You should have taken his money."


	24. Chapter 24

It's the twenty seventh of December and right when I told Haymitch I'm still going to be famous he had be scheduled for Ellen, and that's where I am now, on Ellen.

"So the last time you were on you said you were done being famous." She says. "That you were going home to Peeta."

"Yes."

"And you clearly went home to Peeta because we caught you two making out on the beach on Christmas Eve!" a photo pops up of Peeta and I on the beach making out, which makes everyone start cheering.

"Um…" my face heats up. "Yes." I laugh.

"But…what's this all about?" she holds up the OK magazine. I sigh loudly in annoyance.

"That's all fake." I shake my head. "First of all, I've never had sex, ever, especially not with Rye." I shudder. "I love him and all but…he's basically my brother and that's disgusting. Second, I'm not married to Peeta and I'm definitely not pregnant. I've never actually seen a tabloid about me that's true."

"Okay, I had a feeling it was lies, but I just wanted some confirmation."

"I get it." I nod.

"So I thought you were done?" she asks.

"Well…I was, at first, but then Peeta asked me if I wanted to be done and…I didn't, but I wanted to be with him more. He said he was going to move to California for me…so…" I shrug. "I'm not done."

Everyone cheers again. "So I have a question." Ellen says.

"Yes?" I ask.

"So I was talking to Peeta…"

"Oh god." I say.

"He said that you once broke your phone over Flappy Birds?"

"Yes. I hate that game because I love it so much but I always die right on my high score."

"Well I was looking at some videos and I found this one and it reminded me of you. Shall we watch it?"

I shrug. "Okay."

The screen lights up and a video starts.

"Hey folks this is a quick tutorial on how to cheat and beat the very popular Flappy Bird game." A guy says. "I've been playing it for about a week now, and it has totally consumed my life. Um…the concept seems pretty simple at first. You just sort of tap the screen to keep the bird alive, going through the obstacles without touching anything." He continues on, pointing to his Samsung, which is lit up with Flappy Birds. "And of course I'm sure as you know, that is a lot easier said than done." He takes a deep breath. "But if I can do it, trust me folks, you can do it, so…I'll just jump right in here…and pay attention to the technique that I use. It's really about the technique on beating this game. So I'll start off…" he starts to play. "And just pay attention, because uh…you can miss it." He continues playing. He gets to the start of level eight, and then he hits the green tube. "See right there?" he asks angrily. Then he gets a hammer and starts beating the absolute shit out of his phone. He beats the back for a while, and then he flips it to the front and starts beating the screen so hard that he sends glass bits flying and he makes a hole. "Hit it some more!" he beats it a bit; "You gotta really beat the fucking thing." He keeps hitting it, and then stops for almost thirty seconds and sighs before hitting it one more time. Then, he whispers, "I hate that game." And the video ends.

I cannot breathe. I'm laughing so hard, my head buried in my hands, laughing hysterically. The audience is laughing, too. It takes me five minutes to stop laughing. "Oh my gosh!" I gasp, wiping my tears. "He needs an award for the best way to describe how angry Flappy Birds makes people!"

"I've never played it. I thought it was funny but…does it really make you that angry?"

"Oh gosh, yes, it does!" I put my hand over my heart. "You need to play it." I get my phone from the pocket in my dress. "You have to. We can even break my phone if you want to."

"Oh, I won't break your phone." She says.

"Oh it's fine." I stand up and open the game, moving behind her and handing my phone to her.

"What do I do?"

"Just keep tapping the screen and whatever you do, do not hit the green pipes."

She starts playing the game over and over, and she looks like she's about ready to kill somebody. "Take it back." She hands my phone to me and lets out a long breath. "Let's change the subject." She sighs. "What is something that scares you the most?"

"Um…" I think for a moment. "Spiders." I shudder. "I'm not a girly girl and I grew up hunting in the country and everything but I am absolutely terrified of spiders."

"Still?" she asks.

"Well yes. That's all the really scares me though, I'm not scared eas-"

"AHHH!" Someone grabs my arms and shakes me.

"Shit!" I shout, gasping. I whip around to see a guy in an alligator costume running away. "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, that scared me!" Ellen is falling over laughing and everyone else is laughing, too.

"The best part…" she gasps. "Is that was…" she gasps again. "That was Peeta!"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes!" she starts nodding like crazy, laughing harder at the fact that I've got my knees pulled against my chest.

"I'm gonna get him for that!"

"How about you get him right now! Peeta, take off that costume and come on out here!"

I know he's protesting and insisting that he isn't really needed. "You can't avoid her forever!" Ellen exclaims. Peeta walks nervously out onto the stage.

He looks super sexy. He's in a skintight t-shirt that hugs his biceps tightly, and light color jeans that grab him in the right places. His hands are shoved in his pockets as he slowly sits down next to me. "Ellen made me." He says.

"You could have said no!" I say.

"Sorry..." He folds his hands in his lap. He gives me the look I can't say no to and I stare at him and then sigh.

"Don't do it again, Peeta Ryan."

"Yes ma'am." He says. Then he smiles. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You act like I'm going to kill you out of anger."

He shrugs and runs his hand through his hair. I notice a lot of girls are staring at him like he's a piece of meat and I find myself being territorial. I grab his hand and link our fingers.

"So when's the wedding?" Ellen asks.

"We don't know. We haven't really talked about it."

"Are you planning on having kids?" She presses. I look at Peeta. He shrugs.

"We haven't really talking about...the future. We're engaged. That's good enough for us right now." Ellen nods.

"What's the worst thing he has ever made you do?" Ellen asks.

"Peeta doesn't make me do anything. He thinks woman should be allowed to do nothing and they should be allowed to lay around all day. He thinks that all woman do enough by bleeding once a month and carrying the baby. He doesn't let me do anything, and when he does, it's small things, like to hand him something."

Ellen stares at Peeta, and then at me. "He's a keeper." She says. I pay his thigh.

"I know."

...9...

"Baby pull over." I say.

"Why?" He asks.

"Please?"

He pulls over off the side of the road. "What?" He asks.

"I didn't want to wait to get home." I kiss him.

"Katniss anybody could come. The paparazzi..." He sighs.

"I'm tired of waiting till marriage." I whine.

"I know." He plants a gentle kiss on my lips and starts driving again. "But we'll just have to deal with it."

...9...

I actually jump when we walk inside. The whole house is decorated and it's bright and happy and there are a ton if people here, family I haven't seen in years, people I've never met, old friends. I look at Peeta, who is looking at me.

Both of us are confused. I'm still in my dress from Ellen. "What is this?" I ask.

"We know it's late, but it's your engagement party!" Mom says.

"Engagement party?" Peeta repeats.

"Hell yeah!" Jen says.

"Let's get this shit started!" Jo adds. Music comes out of nowhere. Peeta and I exchange a look of pure shock. Lexi and Lucky are walking around with bows around their necks, loving the special treatment.

Peeta plants a kiss on my cheek and walks off to talk to a guy with brown hair and brown eyes. I walk over to my Grandparents.

"Katniss, darling!" Grandma hugs me. "Look at you! Engaged! Oh my goodness your so beautiful!"

"Thanks Grandma." I smile. I go around and talk to the people I know. I'm in mid-conversation with Jen when Peeta places his hand on my back and leans down so his lips are right against my ear.

"Can I introduce you to people?" He murmurs. Chills run all over my body.

"Sure." I whisper. I look at Jen. "We'll talk later? I ask.

"Of course!"

Then she walks off to talk to Johanna. Peeta leads me to an elderly woman. "grand-mère, c'est mon fiancé, Katniss Everdeen Joy." He says. (Grandma, this is my fiancé, Katniss Joy Everdeen.)

The woman looks me up and down and smiles. "ah, bonjour ma chérie. Peeta, vous avez vraiment choisi la bonne fille. Delly était juste horrible." She says. (ah, hello darling. Peeta, you really chose the right girl. Delly was just horrendous.)

"Je sais. Je l'aime." Peeta smiles. (I know. I love her.)

"Qui? Delly?" She asks. (Who? Delly?)

"Non, Katniss." He replies. (No, Katniss.)

"Bien votre belle, ma chère, je suis grand-mère de Peeta." She says. (Well your beautiful, dear, I'm Peeta's Grandmother.)

"Oh, c'est beau de vous rencontrer." I smile. (Oh, it's lovely to meet you.)

Peeta pulls me away and makes me meet all sorts of people, all of them speaking French.

He also informs me that all of them can speak English, too.

"Can everyone take a seat?" Mom asks.

"Well except for my friend Justin." He says. "But he'll manage. His brother can translate for him." He sits down at a table and pulls me on his lap.

"We thought it would be fun if we took a look in the past to see how Katniss and Peeta were as children."

I tense, and I feel Peeta tense beneath me. "We've made a slideshow. Everything has French translations."

Haymitch starts the video.

Katniss: 1 day old.

It's a picture. I have blond wisps of hair and gray eyes and they're wide and staring around. I'm still red and fresh.

_"You were blond?" Peeta asks. _

_"Yes, I was born with blond hair but it got this color at like six months." _

Two months.

It's a video.

_I'm in the bathtub. Mama is washing me and I'm staring at her. "What?" She asks in a baby voice. My lips from an 'o' and I look like I'm struggling to get a noise out. "What baby, what?" _

_"Ugahhhua!" I kick my arms and legs and slash water on her. "Goahhhua!" I slash more water on her, and she just laughs. _

Six months.

_My hair is turning dark. I'm sitting in the living room next to Johanna watching cartoons. "Mine!" I rip a toy from Johanna's hand. _

_"Butt!" Johanna screams. I crawl away with the toy and Johanna starts crying. _

_"Kitten!" Dad walks over to me and picks me up. "We have to share!" He takes the toy and hands it back to Johanna. She sticks her tongue out at me. _

One year: first birthday.

_I'm sitting in a high chair with a small cake in front of me. I poke the cake and raise my finger to my mouth. _

_Then I grab a huge chunk and rub it on my face, smearing myself in icing. _

Second birthday:

_"WHERES THE CAKE?" I scream, kicking my mother in the ankles. _

_"Katniss be nice." Mom says. _

_"DADDY WHERES THE FUCKING CAKE!" _

_"Katniss Joy, we do not use that language in this house!" _

_"Where's the cake?" I ask. _

_"It's coming!" _

Sixth birthday:

_"Katniss, I have a surprise for you." Daddy says. _

_"What is it?" I ask, tossing my bow and arrows aside. He picks me up. It changes to us walking in the pound. We walk around and I see a puppy, a Siberian husky with tan and gray. It's sleeping in the corner. "Bow!" I squeal. _

_"What honey?" Mom asks. _

_"It's bow!" I point to the puppy. _

_"Is this the one you want?" Dad asks. _

_"Yes!" I shake the cage. Dad gets a person. _

_"Just in time, too. We were going to be putting him down. Had you got here any later, he wouldn't have been here." _

"That was your puppy?" Peeta asks softly in my ear.

"Yes."

It shows me at seven screaming about how I want ice cream. He rests his chin on my shoulder. "You were and still are adorable."

_"Shh Katniss." Dad says. I can hear the crickets chirping and when I look at the screen, I see the woods back home. "What do you hear?" I'm only right here. I'm squatted in the dirt with two braids falling on either side if my face, drawing stick people in the dirt with my arrow. I remember this day well. "Kitten honey, pay attention." _

_"Look Daddy, they're swimming!" I point at my drawing. Everyone in the room laughs. _

_"Yes it's very good, now pay attention." He says. "Listen closely, what do you hear?" _

_"I head you talking and me breathing." _

_He laughs. "Aside from us." He says. _

_"I hear water." I say. _

_"And?" Dad presses. _

_"And I hear voices." _

_"Katniss that's us. I want you to find the water." _

_"Okay!" I sling my bow over my body and put the sheath over my shoulder and start climbing a tree. That one thing I was very good at, at that age. I could climb trees like Tarzan. He picks up the camera and everyone in the room gasps that I am all the way up in the treetops. "Daddy I see animals! They look so happy-oh, they're fighting!" _

_Dad is roaring in laughter. "They're not fighting." He says as O scramble down the tree. _

_"Yes, one was on top of the other and they were fighting." _

_"No honey, they're just being friendly." _

_"No, they were fighting! We have to stop them!" I take off running. Dad chases after me. I break through trees into a field of deer. "HEY DONT FIGHT ITS OKAY, DONT FIGHT!" I screaming, running for the two feet that are actually mating. Dad grabs my hand and pulls me back. A lot of them ran, but not all of them. _

_"Do you want to get dinner?" He asks. I have a look of wonder in my eyes as I look at the deer. _

_"No I don't want to hurt Bambi. Let's get squirrel. There's a ton of them." _

_"Those. There's a ton of those. And they're not Bambi. Bambi lives somewhere else." _

_"Can we go get ice cream? Daddy I want some ice cream." _

_"Let's get dinner." Dad says. _

_"No I'm going to get ice cream." I start walking in the direction we came from. "I'm okay! You can get dinner! I'm a big kid! My hands are buffers than Prim's, see?" I hold my hand up and continue to walk in the other direction. _

_The camera goes dark and then lights up to a door slamming. "SISTER!" I scream. _

_"Katniss she's sleeping." Mom says. I walk to my two year old sister on the couch and wake her up. _

_"Prim I saw Bambi. I saw tons of them and they were fighting!" _

_"I want to see." She mumbles, half awake. _

_"Daddy let's go see Bambi again!" _

Peeta is roaring in laughter.

"Oh this is the best one!" Mom says, shooting me a look when another one begins.

Fifteen years old.

_"Mom." I walk into the living room. You can tell him older. I'm taller, my hair is longer and in one braid, and I've got boobs. _

_"Yes?" She asks. I shut the front door. _

_"I met a boy today." _

_Her eyes snap up to mine and she stands up. "Really? What's his name? Is he cute? Do you like him?" _

_"Well he's really annoying and I got yelled at for slapping him across the face for hitting on me." I cross my arms. _

_Is he still cute though?" She asks. "Think hard. He could be the boy you marry someday." _

_I snort. "Fuck that. I'm not getting married." The whole room explodes in laughter. _

_"Watch your mouth." She says. _

_"Sorry." _

_"Well is he cute?" Mom asks. I start fiddling with the end of my braid. _

_"He's...got big muscles." I look down. She grins. _

_"What's his name?" _

_I start toying with the floor with my boot. "Finnick Odair." _

_Everyone in the room is hysterical. "But he's really annoying and he just pissed me off. I don't like him and I'm definitely not marrying him." _

_"Fine. If you were to get married, what would he or she look like?" _

_"She?" I repeat. "Mom I'm not a lesbian!" I look disgusted. _

_"Well fine. What would he look like?" _

_"I'm not getting married but I don't know." _

_"Well if you were-"_

_"Fine." I think for a moment. "Blond." _

_"And?" I hold my fingers about ten inches apart. _

_"At least ten inches."_

_"What do you-oh god! You are fifteen years old!" I'm laughing so hard, leaning against the wall._

_"Well, I know what I want." _

Nobody knew about this conversation except for the two of us.

One week later.

_"Mom in bringing a friend for dinner." I announce as Finn walks into the house. She walks into the living room and her eyes widen. _

_"What's your name?" She asks. _

_"Finnick Odair." _

_Mom and I lock eyes. "Nice to meet you Finnick." She doesn't look away from me until she shakes his hand. "I'm mom." She says. _

_"We have a project." I blurt. _

_"No we don't." Finn laughs. "Where's your sister?" Prim walks down the stairs. _

_"Wow." She looks at me. "Who is this, Kat?" _

_"This is Finnick." I say. _

_"Is he your boyfriend?" Finn starts laughing. _

_"Not interested." He says. I elbow him in the ribs and he just smirks. _

A year later (after the asshole)

_"Come on Kitty I know your sad! Get off your lazy ass and let's go outside!" _

_"No." I pull my knees closer to my chest. _

_He throws me over his shoulder and carries me out of the house. He walks and walk and then throws me in the lake. _

Four years old. (We forgot this)

_"Lillian..." Dad whispers. _

_"Stop it Ethan." Mom snaps. _

_"We have to do this." Effie insists. _

_"Come on, don't you think this is a little bit over the top?" _

_"No it isn't." Mom says. She turns the camera on herself. "Katniss, Johanna, we're going to show you this in the future. It's Christmas Eve and your four both years old. Just watch." Mom sets the camera on the counter off in corner. "Let's go girls! We have to go to bed or Santa can't come." _

_It moves forwards and it goes from 9:10 at night to 4:23 in the morning._

_Little Johanna and little me sneak into the kitchen. _

_With a boost, I climb into the counter and crawl over to the cookie jar. I open it up and take one. "Just take the whole thing!" Johanna whispers. "Hurry up! Mama is gonna come and we're gonna get in trouble! I'm scared!" _

_"I'm going Jo Jo!" I whisper back. I shove a cookie in my mouth. _

_"Well give me one!" She leans closer to the counter, and I grab another cookie and drop them in her hands. "Hurry up!" Johanna says. _

_"Did Santa come?" I ask. "Go check Jo Jo!" _

_She stomps away and comes back with two gifts. "Let's open some!" She hands me one and I pull her onto the counter next to me. _

_We eat a cookie and she hops down. I grab the jar and I start to blind down but it falls and shatters. We both grab all the cookies and stuff them in our pants. _

_"That was that?" Mom says upstairs. _

_"Someone took the girls! They're gone!" _

_Johanna opens a cabinet and disappears. _

_I see mini me look around and then jump over glass and open the refrigerator, looking around before sweeping a jar of pickles and Christmas dinner and a ton if glass objects out. Then, I climb into the shelf and pull the fridge closed. _

Everyone in the room is roaring with laughter, but my face is buried in my hands.

_"What is this mess?" Mom walks into the kitchen. "Look! Ethan! I told you they were up to no good." _

_"Oh come on Lillian! They're four years old!" Dad is laughing. _

_"Where are they?" _

_"This is not funny!" Effie says. Haymitch walks in and starts laughing too. _

_"They're in here somewhere." Mom says. She looks at the mess of everything made on the floor. "Oh goodness! The dinner!" She says. She pulls the fridge door but it doesn't budge. She pulls again and it opens, and Dad and Haymitch start laughing harder. I'm scrunched up with at least six cookies in my mouth. I swallow. "Katniss Joy! Get out of there!" Mom says. _

_I scramble out of the fridge. _

_"I didn't do it! Johanna made me!" I throw her right under the bus. _

_"She can't make you do anything. You did this too." "Now give me the cookies." _

_"I don't have no cookies!" I back away. _

_"Yes you do Katniss!" _

_"No mama!" I shake my head. There's chocolate all over my mouth."then they are your pants lumpy?" _

_I squirm around. "I have boy parts!" I stomp my foot. _

_"No you don't." _

_"You don't know so!" I insist. _

_"Yes I do." _

_"You look in my pants?" _

_"Katniss, give me the cookies." Effie pulls Johanna out. _

_"I don't have cookies!" I say. _

_"Yes you do." _

_"They're MINE!" I dart between her legs and Dad catches me. _

_"Aw come on kitten." He stands me up on the counter. "Give me the cookies." He holds him hands out. _

_I pull my pants down and my white little girl panties are covered in chocolate and crumbs and my legs are. _

_"See?" Mom says. _

_"I didn't put them there!" I say. _

_"Your filty!" Mom says. _

_I scrape some chocolate off my panties, right over my crotch and I eat it. _

Everyone in the room are about to piss themselves.

_"It's not chocolate." I say. "I had an accident." _

_"You don't poop from your vagina." _

_"It's back here!" I point at my butt. _

_"Katniss I know you took cookies."_

_"Santa gave them to me!" I say. _

_"Gosh, you got crumbs in your underwear! Your going to get infected!" Mom picks me up. _

_"I DIDNT TAKE NOTHING!" I scream. The camera goes dark. _

Peeta's head is buried in my shoulder and he's crying from laughing, while I have my face buried in my hands and everyone else is laughing.

Even after I've recovered and everyone has stopped laughing, Peeta is still going.

"He better have worse videos!" I say.

"Oh don't worry." Mrs. Mellark winks.

"Your not going to play the one of me and the neighbors dog..." she just grins.

He moans and buries his face in my back. "It's not the interesting. You can go in the other room if you'd like." He says. He leans close to me ear. "We can finish what you started in the car."

"Oh no baby, that's alright." I look at him and he sighs.

"Fine." He plants a kiss on my lip and we turn our attention back to the screen.

It's just starting with Peeta.

This is a photo of him as a baby. He's so adorable and his eyes are so wide and the color hasn't changed even a little bit.

One year

This is a video.

_He's crawling around in the living room. Rye, who is three here, is sitting there staring at him. "Mom!" Rye screams. _

_"Yes?" She's holding the camera. _

_"Brother hit me." _

_I snicker. _

_"No he didn't." _

_"Yes mom." _

_"No he didn't, Rye." _

_"He left a mark." He smacks himself and holds his arm out. _

_"Peeta didn't hit you." _

_At the sound of his name, he looks up at his mother and grins. "Hi!" He waves and sits up. _

Peeta is red in the face and I'm just grinning like an idiot.

Two years old.

It hasn't started and Peeta's already hiding. Something tells me he knows what this is. "They talked in English in French all the time and just switched at random times so I would learn it. Most of these, or all of these are probably in English."

_"Andrew, where is Peeta?" Mrs. Mellark asks. _

_"He's outside." Mr. Mellark looks up. They're in the bakery. _

_"Alone?" She asks. _

_"He's fine. Rye taught him to hit in the genitals. It's fenced off anyways." _

_Mrs. Mellark walks to the back door as pushes it open. She shrieks as brown muddy water runs into the bakery. She moves the camera to the backyard. Peeta has the hose, soaked from head to toe, butt naked. The hose is in his hand and he's screaming and laughing and running in circles. He flooded the backyard and the dog is in the corner, digging a huge hole. It's filled with water. _

_"Peeta!" Mrs. Mellark says. _

_"Hi mommy!" He says. _

_"What are you doing?" _

_"I'm making a swimmy pool for me and the puppy!" He says happily. _

_"Andrew he flooded the backyard and stole the neighbors dog!" _

_Peeta starts to pee right there, and he throws his head back laughing. "Peeta!" Mr. Mellark says. _

_"Hi daddy! Come swimming with me!" He walks to the 'swimmy pool' and hops in. It's waist deep. Mrs. Mellark goes out and picks him up. She doesn't say a word. _

_"I can't believe this." Then the camera goes black. _

Christmas Eve: five years old

_Mom rushes up and stops the video. "When we were making this we realize that since Peeta is a year older, you both were causing problems at the exact same time on the exact same day." _

_Peeta and I look at each other and grin. _

_"You guys were partners in crumb before you even met." She presses play and walks away. _

_It's 4:23 am and there is a camera on the counter. Peeta walks into the kitchen in Christmas pajamas and climbs up on the counter. _

_He sits there for a second and then opens the cabinet and grabs a bag of flour and dumps it all over the floor. Then he drops the bag and walks over to the fridge and gets the carton of eggs and dumps all of them on the floor. Then he gets oil and sugar keeps pouring random stuff on the floor. _

_Then he sits down and starts to mix it._

_Graham walks into the kitchen, nine years old. "MOM! DAD!" He screams. _

_"Hi." Peeta says. Mr. and Mrs. Mellark come rushing into the kitchen. _

_"Peeta what are you doing?" Mrs. Mellark asks. _

_"I'm making cookies for Santa!" _

Eight years old

This is a video.

_He's standing in a crowd, talking to his friends. There's a lot of people, so you can hardly see. It's pretty boring but still. _

Ten years

_This one he's arguing with Rye and Graham about a game they were playing. "Why can't you guys stop arguing!" It goes dark. _

Sixteen

_"You guys are so stupid." Peeta looks over the edge of the cliff and sighs, then he looks up at a ton of people. At least five or six girls and the same amount boys. It's a hundred foot drop and it's into the ocean. "There could be rocks." _

_"Oh suck a dick Peeta." A guy says. _

_"I'm never going to suck anything." _

_"Until you get a hot ass girl with nice tits and-" _

_"I'm not going to suck anything." He repeats. _

_"I'll meet your girl and I'll ask her." He laughs. I think that guy is here. _

_"You won't meet her. There won't be a girl. Nobody wants me." _

_"Oh shut up and jump." A girl says. _

_He looks off the cliff and jumps. He disappears for almost a minute before coming up. Everyone starts cheering and jumping. _

Twenty. (THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT!)

_Peeta who looks exactly like Peeta walks over to his dad. "How was New York?" He asks. _

_"Fine." He says. _

_He hesitates and looks down at the counter. "How do you know when your in love?" He asks. _

_He hesitates. "You don't. It just...happens and then you realize you love that person..." He looks at Peeta. "Why?" _

_"I saw this girl..." He starts tracing the pattern of the wood. "I didn't even talk to her. But I heard her laugh...I think I love her." _

_"Well what did she look like?" _

_"Beautiful." _

_"Okay, what makes her beautiful? How tall is she? What color are her eyes. What about her ha-" _

_"Her tit size." Rye walks into the kitchen and hops onto the counter. Peeta crosses his arms. _

_"She's about this tall, I think." He puts his hand up to his chin. "She was sitting down. She has dark hair that goes to her ribs and her eyes are...god, they're so..." He thinks for a moment. "There isn't a word that can describe how amazing her eyes are. They're gray but they're like...they're like a storm cloud." _

_"And her tits?" Graham walks into the kitchen too. _

_"I'm not going to estimate-" _

_"Oh come on little bro! You obviously checked her tits out." Rye crosses her arms. _

_"Fine." Peeta says. "She's either a 38C or a 36D. She could possible be a double D but I'm not sure. She had a jacket on." _

_"Damn." Rye breathes. _

_"Were her tits real?" Graham asks. _

_"How am I supposed to know that?" Peeta asks. _

_"Did they jiggle?" Rye asks. _

_"Dammit! Yes, they were real! But she was talking to some guy." _

_"Oh." Mr. Mellark frowns. _

_"They're fucking. Find another girl." Rye says. _

_"Oh don't just assume. They could be related or be friends or something. Business partners. Who knows. Just because a pretty girl was talking to a boy does not mean that they are intimate." _

_"But even if they're not, the chances of you seeing her again are like one and infinity." Graham says. "Try not to get too hooked." _

_"I want to see what she looks like." Mr. Mellark frowns. _

_"Peet, you should draw her." _

_"That's creepy." _

_"Who gives a fuck. It's not like she's going to see it." _

_"He's got a point." Graham says. _

_"Fine!" Peeta storms off._

"Okay…" Mom sighs. "I suppose that's all." She says. She starts to talk to Peeta but I shift in Peeta's lap so I can look at him.

"Was it me?" I ask, looking down for a moment before looking into his eyes again.

"Yes." He hesitates.

"Did you draw me?"

"Yes, and painted."

I fiddle with my fingers for a moment. "I want to see them, Peeta."

"Um…" he hesitates.

"Please?" I beg. I can feel eyes on us but we don't pay attention. He searches my eyes for a long time.

"They're in Paris." He admits.

"Oh…" I frown. "Well when we go there someday…I want to see them." I whisper. "Okay?"

He's quiet for a bit. "Okay."

"Promise?" I ask.

He sighs. "I promise."

I smile. "I'm holding you to that."

It's dark out now.

Music starts playing and Jen appears at my side with Finn and Jo and a girl with dark long hair and green eyes, holding hands with Finn. I narrow my eyes at her and stand up. Peeta stands up behind me. "I'm going to talk to people. You can come with me or stay here." Peeta says.

"I'll stay." I say.

"Okay." He plants a kiss on my lips and walks away.

"Kitty." Finn says. "This is Annie. We've been dating for two years. Remember the girl I told about on the day you met Peeta?"

"Oh my gosh! Your Annie!" I smile and stick my hand out. "I'm Katniss."

"Hi…" she shakes my hand.

"Let's go dance." Finn pulls Annie away.

"Damn, who's that?" Johanna eyes some guy from across the house.

"I think that's one of Peeta's friends." I say.

"Well hot damn, I'll be back." She pulls her shirt down and adjusts her boobs and walks away. Jen looks at me and sits down.

"So what's been up with you?" she asks.

"You know…the usual." I sigh. "Ellen scared me today."

"Really?" she asks. I laugh.

"Yes. Ellen had Peeta dress up in a gator outfit and he came up behind me as I was in the middle of explaining I was not easily scared, and he scared the shit out of me. I pull my knees against my chest and Ellen was laughing so hard." Jen snickers.

"I can't wait to see that episode."

"Yeah, it'll be interesting." I say.

We talk for hours. We have snacks for dinner but I'm not hungry so I don't move. Johanna comes over. "Someone dance with me!" her words are slurring and she's stumbling around. She's really drunk.

"Okay." Jen has had three beers and she's tipsy, and I've had one and I'm working on my second. Without a word, they get up and ditch me.

My eyes sweep the room, looking for Peeta. I spot him surrounded by the girls and guys from that video with the cliff. They're laughing and I notice that he doesn't have alcohol. I don't go bother them. That's his ground of friends and I don't belong there.

I fiddle with the top of my beer for a while.

After at least a half hour, I feel a soft hand on my back. "Hey." Peeta sits down beside me. "What's the matter?"

I look up at him. "Nothing." I look down again.

"Liar." He smirks. "What's really wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm bored."

"I know how to amuse you." His eyes get three shades darker and he tugs my hands until I'm standing up, and then yanks me down onto his lap, pulling me flush against him. I can feel multiple pairs of eyes on us.

"Show me." I grin breathlessly.

I was wrong. He must have had one beer, because I can take the alcohol on his lips. This isn't a gentle kiss. I feel the alcohol taking over my thought process. I kiss him roughly, hungrily. He kisses back with just as much force. My hands are on his chest, slipped underneath his shirt. His hands have roamed high under on my thighs beneath my dress. We make out intensely and I think people are actually trying to get us to stop. I want to get closer to him, so I press against him farther, and I feel like I'm falling and then the chair crashes to the floor, and the next thing I know, I'm on top of him and both of our faces are bright red and we're breathless. Everyone is laughing so hard that the microphone at the DJ station is catching it and making it a billion times louder. "We knocked the chair over." I mouth to him. He smirks.

"It was worth the embarrassment." He whispers.


	25. Chapter 25

Peeta got dragged away again. I sit alone again. My head is on the table. Nobody bothers me. I can feel my breathing start to get shallower and I drift in and out of consciousness. Someone taps me on the shoulder and I jump and look up, whipping around. It's one of Peeta's friends. "You should come over with us." She says. "Hi. I'm Caitlin." She sticks her hand out.  
"Um...hi…" I shake her head, rubbing my eyes.  
"Have you seen Peeta though? We haven't been able to find him."  
"I thought he was with you guys." I yawn, stretching.  
"No. We thought he was with you. Everyone did, actually. Then we saw you right here. Nobody has seen him in an hour."  
I can't help it when I start worrying.  
"Your mother looked all over the house and he's not here. His car is here though, which doesn't make sense."  
I stare at her for a moment and then stand up. "I'll go find him." I stretch, grabbing my phone from my dress pocket and walking out the front door. I turn on my flashlight and wander down the street.  
It doesn't take very long. He's sitting at the edge of the cliff with his head in his hands. I shut off my flashlight.  
"What's wrong?" I sit down next to him.  
"I have to tell you something." He sniffs. I look at him as he drops his hands and raises his eyes to mine. He isn't crying. I think he's getting sick.  
"Okay." I reach for his hand but he doesn't give it to me.  
"Jordan and I kissed." He blurts. A stab of pain hits me. "Well that came out wrong. She kissed me. I pushed her off. She got me in the bathroom and she started taking her clothes off." He bites his lip. "I ran. I know you hate me, and I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt her. She almost got me out of my boxers. I'm sorry Katniss. I swear to god, I'm sorry." His voice cracks and I see a tear slip down his cheek.  
"Oh baby." I whisper.  
"No. I can't watch you break."  
"Peeta." He starts to get up but I grab his hand and pull him back down. "Peeta, obviously you didn't want it to happen." I scoot closer. "Don't cry. God, please don't cry." I wipe his tears. "I'm not upset.  
"You're not?" He sniffs.  
"No baby, not at all." I cup his cheeks. "But who's Jordan?"  
"She's a girl I used to be friends with. She used to like me and she tried to have sex with me before. I got her off but..." He shakes his head. "She was all over me. I'm so sorry."  
"It's okay, baby. Let's go home." I stand up. He stands up too and brushes my ass off.  
"There you are!" Mrs. Mellark says when Peeta and I walk into the house. "Where did you go?"  
Peeta whispers to his mother what happened and I see her eyes flick across the room to a brunette. I drop his hand and walk across the house. Everyone is partying. I see Peeta from the corner of my eye watching me in panic. I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around and fakes a smile.  
"Hi-"  
"Are you Jordan?" I cut her off. Her eyes flicker a bit of panic.  
"Yes, why?" She asks.  
"You need to leave." I say.  
"Why?" She looks angry.  
"Bitch," I say, a bit too loudly. "Don't play blond. You know why! Get the hell out of this house or I'll drag you by the hair." I threaten.  
"Would you explain to me what I did?"  
We're not exactly being quiet and everyone is watching us in silent. "Your a whore. That basically sums it up." She raises her hand to slap me but I take a step back.  
"Get out." I grit my teeth. "I'll kick your fucking ass."  
She looks at Peeta and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Oh please. He liked it. He told me."  
I laugh. "I've pushed every limit without breaking the rules. He never says he likes it, and bitch, I know what he likes." I grab her wrist and pull her to the door.  
"How am I a whore?" She asks.  
I stop with my hand on the door.  
"Do you want me to answer that question honestly?"  
"Yes." She says.  
"Kissing on my man. Losing your virginity before marriage."  
"How do you know that?"  
"Your waddling. I bet you lost it last night." I open the door and shove her out. "If I see your face again I'll send an arrow through your skull." I slam the door and lock it.  
Peeta isn't there when I turn around. I nod at the DJ and he starts the music again.  
"He went upstairs Katniss." Mrs. Mellark says. I nod and walk away, up the stairs to our bedroom. He's lying face down. I close the door and walk over to him.  
"You need to leave me alone. We shouldn't even be together. I cheated on you. I'm breaking up with you." He sits up.  
I stare at him. "We're not breaking up." I say.  
"Yes we are." He stands up. "Can I have the ring please? I would let you keep it but it was my Great grandmas and I need to have it back." He says.  
"No." I say. "You didn't cheat on me. She did that. That wasn't you. You didn't want that, did you?"  
He shakes his head. "Katniss please don't making this harder." He begs.  
"Just hear me out. If you still want to leave after, I will give you the ring."  
He sighs but remains silent. "Jordan was the one that kissed you. She's the one that almost got your dick from your boxers. She's the one. You didn't do anything wrong."  
"I just want you to be happy and you can't be happy with a cheating bastard."  
"The only place I'm happy is with you." I whisper. He stares at me.  
"Please Peeta. Don't end us. Don't let her win. She's wrong. Don't do this. You didn't cheat. You didn't, really you didn't. Please don't go."  
He stares at me for a long time. "You know..." He looks down at the bedside table. "When I was a kid I was a rule breaker. I'm good at breaking rules and I'm an excellent liar." He says. "I want to be a rule breaker with you."  
"What do you mean?" I whisper. He walks over to me.  
"I want you. I don't want it to be me making you feel good, or you making me feel good. I want it to be both of us joined together. I want it to be us at the same time."  
"Peeta I don't want to yet." I whisper. "Well I want to but..." I take a deep breath. "We can't. I'm not breaking this rule." He stares at me for a while.  
"Okay." He sighs.  
"Don't go."  
"I won't." He whispers.  
"Promise?" I ask quietly.  
He leans down and places a careful kiss on my lips. "I promise."

We go back downstairs, and I notice he follows me everywhere I go. His fingers stay linked in mine.  
I'm talking to my Grandmother and the rest of my family that I haven't seen in a while. Peeta drops my hand and I start to miss his warmth right away. He doesn't walk away like I thought he was going to.  
"Wait, so you went to Paris and realized that the song went viral?" My cousin who is sixteen, Christina asks. I nod. Peeta stars taking out my braid. My eyes flick to him and he isn't paying attention to anything.  
"Yes. And then I found out about the whole Ellen thing." I sigh. He grabs my wrist and puts the hair tie on it. "And I went and did the concert and then I went on the show. The next thing I know I'm making an album, I'm engaged and the whole world is obsessed with the 'girl with a voice like an angel'. I think it's overrated." I shrug.  
"But it's not." Peeta interjects. "You just have a hard time seeing the effect you have on people."  
"I agree." Christina says. "I would love to have your voice."  
"I don't know..." I hesitate.  
"You don't have to. We decided for you." Peeta smiles. He finishes getting out my braid and starts running his fingers through my hair. Johanna, drunk, walks past us.  
"Pussy whipped." She says. Then she keeps walking like she was never even there. I roll my eyes.  
It was directed at Peeta.  
"Am I pussy whipped?" Peeta asks.  
"Um." I look down. He sighs and releases my hair.  
"Well that's about to change." He walks away.  
Audrey tugs my hand. My family walks away, clearly bored with our conversation. I turn to face her and see her entire face is red and she is crying. "Will you chaperone my field trip next Friday?" She sniffs. "Everyone is saying no! We only need two more to go to Disney and nobody can find nobody!" She stops her foot. "Peas Katnus? Peas?"  
I can never tell Audrey no. I squat down in front of her and take the permission slip.

_Destination: Walk Disney Land_

_When: Friday, January forth, 2013_

_Special Instructions: The busses will be leaving at 6 am sharp. The students are asked to be at school at five thirty. School originally starts at 8;05, but they are to be there early. We will be getting back at 6 pm and it is expected of parents to be there to get their children. We need twenty chaperons. To chaperone you must come to the front office. The children need to bring lunch or bring money. The chaperons will be in charge of the children's money._

_Name: Audrey Alyssa Williams_

_Parent/Guardian Signature: __

"I'll go see what I work. Then I'll talk to Peeta." I kiss her head and walk over to Haymitch. "Do I work on Friday?" I ask. He eyes me for a moment, thinking.

"I think you have to be in the studio but let me check." He pulls out his phone. After a couple seconds he answers. "You have to be in the studio."

I sigh. "Well I need Friday off."

"You can't take Friday off! It's the last day to wok on the album! You need to record two songs!"

"Well I'm going on a field trip with Audrey." I say.

"You can't. You have to work. You finish to he album Friday!"

"Fine."

...8...

Peeta won't even look at me because he seems to think that he can't talk to me in order not to be pussy whipped.

Im falling asleep again.

"What's wrong?" Mama sits down next to me.

"Tired. And Peeta's ignoring me ."

She frowns. "Why?"

"Because Jo called him pussy whipped. He said it was going to change and now he's gone and he won't even look at me." I sigh.

"Oh." She frowns. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I say. I put my head back down. She walks away after a bit.

...9...

Hands are on my shoulders and lips are on my cheek. I panic and snap my head up. "Did you fall asleep?" Peeta asks.

"I'm tired." I mumble.

"I feel terrible." He mumbles. "I left you alone. I was thinking...who gives a shit if I'm pussy whipped. I love you. That's all that matters."

I say nothing, I just put my head back on the table as a yawn escapes my lips. I want to go to bed. I was up at four this morning because I had to go to the studio and then to Ellen and I'm still exhausted. He opens his arms for me to hug him but I just shake my head because I'm exhausted.

"I love you too." He whispers.

...2...

Peeta is staying with me this time. He's keeping me awake by talking to me and tickling me when I start to drift.

"I love you." He says when he sees my eyes closing again, tickling my sides until I'm breathless from laughing.

"I love you too." I lean closer to him and place a kiss on his lips. He deepens it for a moment and pulls away and stands up, placing three more kisses on my lips.

"I'll be back." He kisses me for the forth time and walks away.

I get my 5s from the pocket in my dress and press the hold button, pressing my finger to the button until it unlocks. I see I have a message on twitter, so I click on the app.

Oh god, I forgot I messaged Colbie Calliat for Alexis!

I go to messages to see she replied.

Katniss Everdeen. Wow, this is an honor. I would just call you but we only have this as communication and I think that putting our numbers

She runs out of characters so starts another message.

On twitter is a terrible idea. How about we meet somewhere. Are you free at say...noon tomorrow? At Starbucks?

I start typing.

I can do that. Which Starbucks?

10955 Weyburn

I nod even though she can't see me.

Okay I know where that is. See you then.

Okay, bye.

Bye.

I look over my shoulder to make sure nobody is watching and then I get up and walk out of the house and down the street where I'm not likely to be found.

Then I call Alexis.

"Hello?" She asks.

"Alexis? It's Katniss."

"Oh, hi." She says.

"Look, I know it's late there, like one in the morning or something, but Colbie Calliat just answered me."

"She did? Really?"

"Yes, she did."

"And?" She asks hopefully.

"Well we can't exchange numbers on twitter because it's not safe so I'm meeting her tomorrow at noon at Starbucks."

"In LA?" She asks.

"Yes, why?"

"Oh I'm just trying to get a visual." She laughs.

...9...

It's three in the morning her time and midnight here. We're still jabbering away. I can tell we're great friends. We have a lot in common. "So whats it like doing an album?"

"It's long and tiring." I sigh.

"I'm still struggling to get noticed." She grumbles.

"I can help you out." I say. "It takes three words. My friend is awesome. Then they'll be questioning like crazy."

"Katniss!" Peeta sounds like he's about to scream. He looks unkempt, his hair disheveled, his breath irrational, his clothes look sweaty and his eyes look dark and worry filled.

"You can really do that?" Alexis asks.

"Yes I can. I'll do it Friday. I go on Ellen that day, or...I don't know no just know I go on Ellen or Jimmy Fallon. I don't know what day."

"Who is that?" Peeta asks.

"I have to go." I say.

"Okay. Bye." she says.

"Bye." I hang up.

"Where have you been?" He asks.

"Walking and talking." I frown. He curses and runs his fingers through his messy hair.

"Do you realize it's midnight and that you've been walking and talking for three hours?"

"We'll more like pacing..." I bite my lip.

He states at me. "Katniss I haven't been able to get a hold of you for three hours." He looks like he's really been freaking out.

"I'm sorry." I whisper.

"Who were you talking to anyways?" He asks, his voice softer.

"Alexis..."

"Peterson? Alexis Olivia Peterson? Rye's Alexis?"

"Yes." I kick a stone.

"Why?"

"Because...I can't tell you right now. I'll tell you after everyone leaves."

"Everyone is out looking for you." He admits.

"Why?" I ask, kicking another rock off the edge of the cliff.

"Katniss you've been gone for three hours and your car was still here. Obviously you were on foot. Either that or someone took you, which is what I've been worry about. I thought someone came and grabbed you. God Kat...I was so scared." He pulls me into a hug so tight that I struggle to breath. I plant a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know baby." I mumble. "I didn't know I had been gone that long." I shiver because it's cold out here, probably in the low fifties.

"Let's go home." He says, noting I have no jacket. He takes his jacket off.

"No Peeta." I reject his coat.

"Yes." He says. "Put it on."

"No." I say stubbornly.

"Yes. Right now."

I love when he commands me. "I don't want-"

"Now."

I sigh sharply and grab the jacket. He puts his hands on my arms.

"I don't want you to get sick." He whispers.

"I think it's sexy when you tell me what to do." I pull the jacket on the rest of the way. "Then again...your just sexy in general."


	26. Chapter 26

I run my fingers through my hair and sigh as I pull my tank top on. Today is my only day off this week aside from Sunday and Peeta is upset, more like angry because I'm working New Years Eve and Day, which is tomorrow.

He watches me dress with a sad look on his face.

"I won't be gone that long." I mumble.

"One millisecond is is too long. Blinking is too long. This isn't fair." he crosses his arms and sits down on the floor like a child.

"Peeta..." I pull my long sleeve gray loose fitted shirt that says 'MAKE LOVE' and my coral pants and button them up. Them I pull my hair out if it's bun and flip my head and run my fingers through it before flipping back and putting on my gray beanie and black vans.

"Rye and Alexis can make their own love story." He says.

"Peeta." I sit down in front of him. He pull me into his lap and puts both hands in my ass.

"Quit your job." He says.

"Peeta I can't just quit-"

"Come on. Please? Quit your job. We can move to the country and get a farm on our property and a forest and horses. You can hunt! Don't you miss hunting? I'll be able to see you when I want and you can work at the bakery. We can do what we want and we don't have any schedules."

"Peeta I'm not going to let you convince me to quit my job again." I say. He pushes me off his lap, his touch gentle.

"Fine." He stands up. "Bye." He walks away.

...9...

By the time I get there, I'm late, and I'm just in a bad mood. I see her sitting at a table. I walk over to her and she meets my eyes and smiles. "Hi!" She says. She stands up and hugs me like she's known my forever and I hug her back. "I honestly thought you were just a fan trying to meet me or something. I didn't think you would need something from me." She laughs. I smile.

I sit down and so does she.

"I just want to say that your voice is amazing." I say.

"Oh, thank you." She smiles. She flicks her eyes over my shoulder and sighs softly. "Everyone is watching us." she whispers.

I shrug. "I know."

She look at me. "So what is it you need?" she asks.

"Well, you know my fiancé, Peeta?"

"I know of him, but I don't know him personally." She says. I nod.

"Well his brother met this girl named Alexis Olivia Peterson. They ran into each other on the street and they both want to date but neither one if them has the guts. This is where you come in." She's listening intently. "You see, Alexis lives here in LA and she has the voice of a god. I was thinking of songs, you know, one that she can sing to tell him she thinks she's falling in love with him."

"Ah, I see. You want to know if your fiancés brothers friend can cover my song 'I Think I'm Falling For You' so she can sing it to your fiancés brother, is that right?"

I let out a breath. "Yes. She would have asked you but she didn't know how to get ahold of you."

"I guess she can cover the song." She says. "I think we have to get something signed first..." She frowns.

"We do?" I ask.

"Let's just both sigh a piece of paper." She says.

"I'll get one." I stand up. I'm just about to get in line when everyone insists I can cut. "Oh that's really not necessary." I say.

"Please." They insist.

"Um...okay." I move to the front of the line. "Do you have a piece of paper?" I ask.

The lady stares at me, dumbstruck.

"Uh..." She says. "Um..."

Then she passes out, falling backwards to the floor. I lean over the counter.

Did I say something wrong?

"Did she just pass out?" Colbie walks over to me.

"Um...yes." I say. A worker comes out of the back, sees the two of us and screams.

"Shit! Jess! Come look at this!"

A girl walks into the front and gasps. "Oh god." She grabs the guys arm. Colbie and I exchange a look. My phone starts vibrating insistently in my pocket. I pull it out to see I'm getting a trillion messages from Finn, Jo and Peeta in a group. Rye and Graham and Justice and Kegan are added.

_Jo: BRAINLESS YOU NEED TO COME HOME _

_Rye: THIS IS NOT GOOD _

_Graham: OH GOD_

_Kegan:I see nothing happy in the future _

_Justice: well damn_

_Finn:KITTY COME HOME NOW _

_Peeta:kat you really need to come home. Like...right now_

_Me: why? What's happened?_

_Peeta:it's a long story but you need to come home _

I feel myself getting nervous.

_Me: fine. Im on my way. If this is a joke I'm going to kick someone in the face _

"Colbie I'm really sorry but I have to go. Can we meet tomorrow or something?"

"How about I call you?" She asks. I hand her my phone and she saves herself as a contact and texts herself.

Then I leave.

...9...

I realize just how serious this is when I walk in the door and I hear my family screaming. Finn is pale and pacing, as is everyone else aside from my family. The kids are crying.

Prim is crying and she looks like she's about to kill somebody.

I don't even get noticed. Everyone is so angry. Mrs. Mellark looks upset and she's whispering to Mr. Mellark.

"I can't fucking believe this!" Mom says.

Mrs. Mellark walks over to me. "Prim threw up this morning and then she admitted she might be pregnant. And this has been going on since. Your Mom and Dad want to throw her in a foster home."

"They want to get rid of her?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Are you joking?"

"No…I mean…I strongly believe in no sex before marriage but I would not ever get rid of my child…kids will be rebellious. They're teenagers. They don't listen and…I mean…I wouldn't and could put my sons for adoption. Just the very though…" she looks at her three boys and shakes her head. "You'll understand one day, I bet."

"No, get in the car! I don't want you anymore!" mom points to the door, and I get pissed when Prim _listens._

I slam the front door and lock it.

"Move Katniss." Mom says.

"Don't tell me what to do." I cross my arms. She looks like she could kill me right now.

"Youb are my daughter-"

"And I am an adult and that is my fucking sister!" I point at Prim, who looks slightly relived when she realizes I'm sticking up for her.

"What are you saying?" Mom demands.

"I'm saying that if you put her up for adoption, I swear on the fucking bible you will _never_ see me again."

"Katniss she had sex-"

"I don't give a fuck!"

"Katniss she's seventeen years old."

"I don't care!" I'm seething. "You're pissed because she's pregnant, is that it? If you didn't get me on birth control, I could have been pregnant with Cato's kid! Then what? Are you going to get rid of me, too?"

"Katniss this wasn't rape." Mom says. "That's completely different-"

"Did she tell you it wasn't rape?" I demand.

"No but-"

"Well Prim wouldn't just go off and have sex." I say. Prim must get what I'm doing. "She wouldn't and you damn well know it."

"Katniss cut the shit and get out of the way."  
"You're not putting my sister up for adoption because you're pissed off because she made a mistake."

"Mistakes mean you're a failure in life." She says.

I actually stare at her for a long time. "You know…your wrong."

"Not I'm not-"

"How many mistakes have I made? I can think of a huge mistake right off the top of my head." I hiss.

"Let's hear it then." She crosses her arms.

"The day I asked Peeta what was wrong and he told me he had to move back to New York and I _let him go_. That was the biggest I've ever made. "I helped him pack. What kind of sick person does that? But am I a failure? No, I'm not. You know why? Because I _learned_ from the damn mistake. He's right there. I got my head out of my ass and fixed the fucking mistake!"

"But that doesn't make you successful."

"Well I have about…" I think for a moment. "Almost four _million_ dollars more than you do." I point out. She looks angry.

"She broke the family rule." She says.

I say it. I say what I've been holding in for years. "The _family rule_ is stupid." I say. Gasps hit my ears. Peeta, Jo, Rye, Graham, Finn, Justice, Kegan and Prim just smirk, shake their heads and look down at the floor. Finn is expected to follow the rule.

"Excuse me?" Mom asks.

"You heard me. The rule is stupid! It's so fucking stupid! I'm an adult! I should be allowed to have sex with my fiancé whenever we want! I get waiting till eighteen because I'm still a kid, but I'm going to be twenty five soon. I'm twenty five years old and I've never had sex by choice."

"I'm twenty nine and I've never had sex." Graham mutters.

"See? It's stupid! What about those of us that aren't planning on getting married?"

"Well then-"

"They never get to experience sex? That's stupid. I've thought it was stupid since I was old enough to understand sex. It's so damn stupid. I get you want to save yourself, but come on mother, there's a ton of loopholes. Peeta's seen every single inch of me but we can't have sex because of the stupid family rule!"

She looks insulted. "I'm not okay with you thinking like this." She says.

"Well, the doors right here." I point to it. "I'm just saying that it's a really stupid rule. Honestly people, raise your hand if you agree." I shoot my hand up on the air, and slowly, all the kids and teenagers and young adults raise their hands.

"You guys are still young."

There are more of us that have had sex than there are of you. I hate the damn rule."

"Yeah uh…I really just think it's stupid. If you're going to have restrictions, at least make is so you have to be engaged...or in a serious relationship." Peeta says.

Mrs. Mellark is quiet for a long time. "I kind of agree with them…" she says.

"Me too." Mr. Mellark says.

"Let's make is different." Mrs. Mellark says. "If they're in a serious relationship for a year oir more, they can have sex. If they are engaged they can have sex. That sounds fair."

The rest of the Mellark's start nodding in approval.

"But Prim isn't in a serious relationship." Mom says.

"We don't even know if she is pregnant."

"Yeah I mean…I'm sort of on my period…"

"Then you can't be pregnant!" Mom says.

"I think you owe her an apology." I cross my arms.

"I'm sorry." Mom says.

My Grandmother who was left in charge of the family rules clears her throat. "I think it seems perfectly necessary to let them be in physical contact if they are in a relation a year or longer." She says. "And I suppose…if they get pregnant…it could be alright. If they have sex before a year they're shunned."

"Are you sure?" Mom asks.

"Yes." She says. "That's the new rule." 


	27. Chapter 27

I don't realize until until that night in the shower that Peeta and I are allowed to have sex. The cold water isn't working and I've been wondering all day why everyone left and didn't come back. They didn't call or text. It's just been Peeta and I. We spent a good hour tossing popcorn into one another's mouth and then a good hour and a half cleaning up the popcorn. Then we restarted the movie we paid no attention to during the movie and made out the whole movie. Then he made dinner and I sat on the counter watching him. Then we ate and made out again and we attempted at watching the movie we've played three times. We got bored and he dared me to jump in the pool and undid it even thought it was freezing. He jumped into the pool after me and we splashed each other and then made out.

And finally we watched the movie. When it ended I came up here to take a shower and he went to take a shower down the hall from where I am.

I bet it's all warm and toasty in there, in his shower. I shiver under the cold water and shut it off. I give up. I wrap a towel around me and walk down the hall to the bathroom he's in. I shut the door silently and hang my towel on the back of the door. It's steamy in here. I creep closer to the curtain and then rip it back. He spin around and just stares at me. Then he drops the soap and pulls me in with him. "I realized something." I mumble.

"And that is?" He asks, knowing the answer.

"We don't have any restrictions anymore." I mumble.

"That's right." He whispers. "Turn around please." He says, turning me so my back is facing him. He leans really close to me and whispers, "close your eyes."

I follow his instructions and wait. Then he starts rubbing soap into my hair. "Ever since I saw you in Starbucks years ago, I always wanted to wash your hair."

He washes it for a good fifteen minutes before ringing it out and washing my body with his bare hands. "Your not going to work tomorrow." He says.

"Peeta, don't start." I warn.

"Haymitch said so." He defends.

He washes the soap off me after making me nearly scream the further he moved. Then he lets me wash him and I use my bare hands like he did.

After we're both clean, we stare at each other for a moment and then start making out.

...&...

I wake up, my hair everywhere, my arm thrown across Peeta's stomach, my head on his chest.

I'm having a hard time believing that what happened last night was real. I know he's awake. I can tell by the speed of his heartbeat.

He was so gentle. Every little touch was ethereal. He kept making sure I was okay and telling me he loved me and I kept telling him I loved him too.

His hand that is on my back begins to rub circles. He places a kiss on my head. I shift so I can look into his eyes and we simply stare at each other for a long time.

"I love you." I place a kiss on his lips.

"I love you, too. Someone rings the doorbell. We both let out a long sigh when they ring it three more times. "It's somebody from the family, I bet." He says.

"I'll go get it." I mumble. I stand up and stretch, and he watches me as I walk to my dresser and get a bra and panties and pull them on and then I look around and get one of Peeta's shirts from his dresser.

"What if it isn't someone we know and you don't have pants on?" He asks.

"Well then they get a sweet surprise." I rake my fingers through my hair until it's smooth on my way downstairs and walk over to the door and pull it open.

Haymitch and Effie.

They never just come over alone.

"Morning Sweetheart." Haymitch walks into the house. "Sorry to..." He looks me up and down and smirks. "Interrupt."

"Haymitch, be polite!" Effie scolds. He waves her off.

"Pack." He points at me. "Where's Peeta?" He asks.

"He's in bed." He heads for the stairs. "He's naked."

He stops. "PEETA GET DOWN HERE!"

He comes downstairs in sweats, running his fingers through his hair.

"What?" He asks.

"Pack."

"Pack what?"

"Clothes. Everything, just pack your stuff." Haymitch says.

"Why?" I ask.

"We're going on a vacation."


	28. Chapter 28

"Why not?" I demand, following Haymitch around the parking lot. Peeta's really pissed off, Finn's really pissed, I'm livid, Annie's upset, Rye's _really_ pissed and Alexis is angry. I'm just the only one close enough to Haymitch to give him shit for it.

We're renting an RV to drive down to Florida which will take a week and three days and then we're getting on a huge boat Haymitch bought and we're going somewhere and it's going to take a long time on the boat to get there.

And Haymitch has decided that the girls are going in one RV and the boys are going in another and I won't see Peeta for a week and three days and there are two outlets to charge a ton of phones so I'll be going hours without a battery at some point. "I think you guys should give me your phones, too." He adds.

"Hell no!" I burst. He turns to face me and he looks annoyed.

"Is there a problem?" he asks.

"Are you kidding?" I ask.

"It's only a week and three days." He says.

"Yes. Two hundred and forty hours, fourteen thousand and four hundred minutes and eight hundred and sixty four thousand seconds without seeing Peeta or Finn or any of the guys!"

"Oh boo hoo, you have to go a whole ten days without sex. How sad."

"It's not about sex!"

I'm ready to hit him and I didn't realize I was raising my hand until Peeta grabs it and pulls me away. Why can't we just fly there!"

"Because your plane is broken!"

Oh yeah I forgot that that Cameron messaged me and told me it wasn't working.

I let out a loud groan.

"And the outlets don't work."

...9...

I miss his voice.

All of us stay quiet, missing our males. Johanna sleeps, as does the single people. I sigh for the billionth time. It's been four days and I miss my baby.

I try again to restart my phone and it doesn't work.

Nobody has a car charger, nobody has a laptop and nobody has a charged phone.

I run my fingers through my hair. "Damn Haymitch." I mutter.

And then it clicks. I walk over to Effie who is driving. "Can we stop at Walmart?" I ask.

She's bothers by not having her phone either.

"Sure." She says.

We wait for a few minutes.

"What are we here for?" Mom asks.

"I'll only be a few minutes." I grab my purse and walk off of the RV.

I go right to the electronics and get the best laptop and get a ton if good food and pay and walk back to the RV.

"What'd you get?" Johanna asks. I drop the bag and empty it.

"What's with the laptop?"

"We can charge our phones." I say.

"You couldn't buy a car charger?" Alexis asks.

"Computers are better." I open the box and power up the computer.

We wait a few minutes for me to set it up and then when my phone will turn on, I call Peeta and pray he'll answer.

"Kat?" He asks. I let out a breath.

"Hi."

"Is that Kitty?" Finn demands.

"Yes." Peeta says.

"Let me talk to Alexis!" Rye shouts.

Then everyone is shouting in the background to talk to somebody. I put it on speaker phone. "It's on speaker phone." I tell Peeta.

Peeta is arguing with all of them. "It's my fucking phone!" He finally says.

"Let me talk to Annie!" Finn snaps.

"It's my fiancé and my phone! I get to talk to her first! If the phone dies you can suck it!" Peeta says.

They keep fighting and then the line goes dead.

"We'll that was a waste." I grumble.

...9...

"I'm bored." Johanna sighs.

"So am I." I mumble.

Everyone nods in agreement.

"We need some music." I say.

"I wonder where we're going." Alexis says.

"I know where we're going." Effie says.

"I don't know if I even packed right." I say.

"What'd you pack?" She asks.

"Winter clothes."

She actually slams on the break and then pulls into a mall parking lot. "This is tropical stuff." She says.

"Well lets to shopping!" Prim says.

...9...

I gave everyone two hundred dollars to get clothing. I have a teal long sundress that shows cleavage and I have three different bathing suits, a ton of shorts, tank tops, sunglasses, dresses, shoes.

I'm really just going crazy.

I have crop tops, too.

Johanna is making me get a ton of thongs and bras from Victoria's Secret. I get everyone lunch and Starbucks and then we go back to the RV. Everyone keeps thanking me and I say you're welcome and all that.

And then we're off again.

….a….

It's hot as balls in Florida. I feel my excitement rise to the roof when we pull into the parking lot that the guys are at. I'm wearing the teal sundress that goes to my ankles and is tight around my chest and a white lacy bra and a thong that matches. My boobs show enough to make Peeta drool.

"I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees you in that thing." Johanna snickers.

"It's going to be funny." Alexis agrees. Annie who is very shy has stepped out of her shell with us and she's good friends with us now. I'm packing last minute things.

"I'll make him even more crazy." I take my braid out and run my fingers through it and grab my white sunglasses and put them on top of my head.

"Damn Kat." Jo says. I zip up my suitcase and put on my wedges. The girls start to file off the bus and I make sure I'm the last one off. I lug off my suitcase and make sure Peeta can see me when I run my fingers through my hair.

Damn, my phone. I look down at my suitcase as I lower my glasses over my eyes and then go back on the bus to get my phone and my laptop and charger and get off the bus and shut the door.

Then I band down and I can hear Johanna cackling as I shove my laptop and charger into my suitcase too. My sunglasses all off my face and I bend down further to pick them up and shoe them in my bag and smirk to myself as I straighten up and turn around.

His mouth is half open. Everyone is grinning and shaking their heads but Peeta is actually speechless. I walk over to him. "Are you going to say hi or keep staring at my boobs?" I ask.

"Uh…" he says. I raise my eyebrows and he licks his lips and then forces his eyes to mine. It doesn't last long because he starts looking me up and down again. I laugh and his eyes look back at my boobs when they move when I laugh. I can tell by the look on his face he's going to give himself a boner. "Um…uh…I uh…um…" he coughs, trying to make himself sound less like an idiot.

"He's ready to fuck Brainless. Better revive him."

Everyone starts laughing, me included. "I am not." Peeta says, his face going bright red. But then he looks at me again. "Um…"

I raise his eyes back to mine. "My eyes are here, not here." I point at my eyes and then my chest.

He licks his lips again. "I like your dress." He says. "A lot, a whole lot. I really like your dress. I really, really like your dress um…that's my favorite part." He points at my chest. "And your ass it um…it looks uh…it looks good…" He says. I lean closer so my lips are right next to his ear.

"That's because I'm wearing a thong." I whisper. I pull back to look into his eyes and his mouth drops open. And his eyes go from blue to black.

"Really?" he asks. I nod my head.

"What'd she say?" Graham asks.

"That's hot." He says. "Damn." He lets out a long breath. I know that he's done stuttering when he takes my suitcase from my hand and kisses me when I try to protest.


	29. Chapter 29

"This is so fucking ridiculous." I snap.

"Enough." Haymitch says.

Peeta is actually much angrier than everyone combined.

Haymitch has decided that everyone will be having their own room and at ten at night the door will be locked after he makes sure the only person in there is the person assigned to that room. There is a fridge and a bathroom in every room so we can be in there until nine in the morning.

Peeta is so fucking angry that his knuckles are white, his mouth is pressed in a straight line and his hands are in fists. He jams them in his pockets.

"The only exception is for the families. Spouses are together. Everyone without a ring is alone."

"I have a ring." I say.

"Not that kind of ring." He says.

"Oh course not!" Peeta bursts. Everyone looks at him in shock.

Someone needs to calm him down.

He's absolutely pissed. He doesn't normally snap. When he's angry he keeps everything inside. "Is there a problem?" Haymitch asks.

"That's a stupid question!" he says.

"Peeta." Mrs. Mellark warns.

"This is bullshit! You make us go a week and three days and now we have to go a long time apart again!

And there will be no way for us to have sex or anything or even make out because the doors can't close during the day if there are two people of the different gender in the room. "I'm sorry, you didn't have to come."

He starts to rant about how the world is fucked up and he's ready to 'fucking kill somebody' and how he hates every living person and he wishes nobody lived and he could do what he wanted and everyone is trying to get him to shut up but he isn't listening.

Nobody physically does something but everyone is trying to make him be quiet.

He's being rude and disrespectful. Why would he talk like this? Especially to an adult?

I know I have a temper but I would _never_ say this to an adult.

His voice gets louder until he's shouting and finally, I, being the last person to try to calm him, step in.

After telling him 'stop' and then 'your being rude' and then 'stop it' and then 'Peeta Ryan stop it right now' and finally I say 'shut the fuck up!' and he doesn't, so I kiss him roughly. When he starts responding, I pull him away. "If you start being a bitch again I swear to god…" I trail off. He looks at me and crosses his arms.

"It's not fucking fair." He says.

"Watch your mouth." I threaten.

"I'm my own person and I can say whatever the hell I want to!" he snaps at me. I grit my teeth for a long time.

"Your right." I say. I look at my room number on Haymitch's clipboard which is room 238 and then I grab my suitcase and stalk off.

I hear Mrs. Mellark say "You owe some people an apology. Especially a girl and her uncle." And then I hear people walking away.

I'm just in a bad mood. I grab my room key off the hook next to the door and unlock my door, opening it and slamming it behind me. I take a long hot shower and then walk out and lie down on my bed and end up falling asleep.

….a….

"KATNISS!" Prim bangs on the door. "It's fucking dinner time!" she says. I groan and roll over.

"I'm tired!" I moan, dragging myself to my feet and opening the door. She walks away and I walk down the hall in my dress, running my fingers through my hair as I walk out onto the deck.

Peeta obviously apologized to Haymitch because everyone is getting along.

I yawn and stretch. Peeta walks over to me. "I was a jerk. I'm sorry." He says.

"It's fine." I mumble, serving myself and walking over to the bow to eat. Peeta joins me and we sit in silence, eating, and then silent afterwards. I help clean up and then I hear Mrs. Mellark gasp.

"Oh my goodness!" she says. "Look!" she points out to sea and we follow her gaze to see a boat sinking and two blondes, one male, one female, swimming. Our boat goes over to them.

"Let's save them. We can't just leave them stranded." Haymitch says.

We all agree and he lugs them on.

And my blood runs cold and my eyes go black and everyone falls silent.

Delly Cartwright and Cato Harris.

Delly looks at me in disgust and I stare at her. If looks could kill she would detonate.

Then she shoots me a fake smile. "Hi Katniss." She says.

I cross my arms and roll my eyes. "Bitch." I mutter under my breath. Peeta smirks and looks down.

"Excuse me?" she flicks some wet hair over her shoulder. "What did you just say?"

"I'm sorry." I fake a laugh. I take a step closer to her. "Are you death?"

"No." she says.

"I didn't think so." I hiss.

She doesn't say anything. Cato is staring at me.

What a dog. "Let them stay." I tell Haymitch. "I hate them but I'm not heartless. Just make sure they're in an underwater room so if the ship sinks they drown."

And that's exactly what he does.

…a…

Oh this is not okay with me.

I see her staring at Peeta.

I want to hit her. I finish my breakfast and help clean up. Peeta is talking with Finn and Rye. Cato is staring at me and Delly is staring at Peeta. "I'm sorry, is he the only fucking thing you can look at?" I ask sharply, which makes every conversation drift off. I know Johanna and everyone else wants me to fight her and I know none of them will stop me until she's nearly dead.

Except for Cato, but if he touches me Peeta will kill him.

I know he won't. He's afraid of Peeta. "Can I not look at him?" she asks innocently.

"Bitch, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself." I threaten.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asks.

"It means I want to fucking kill you. If you push me even a little bit further, I promise I'll draw blood."

"I have a black belt." She says.

"I don't give a flying fuck what you have." I say.

"At least I wasn't raped." She says.

"At least I have a heart."

"At least I'm pretty."

"At least I'm warm blooded."

"At least I'm liked."

"At least I'm loved." I hiss. I swear to god I'm going to kill her.

"Bitch, Peeta's only with you for your damn tits. He doesn't give two fucking shits about you or your family. He want's your money and your kids. He doesn't actually care about you. He loves me and he doesn't care about you. He'll take your money and leave you broken hearted in the fucking streets and I hope to god you'll kill yourself."

My hands are in fists.

"And you won't even hit me. What a pussy." She laughs. Everyone is leaning forward, holding their breaths, praying I'll kick her ass.

"I'll show you what I pussy is!" She punches me.

I make no move to hit me back. "Come on motherfucker! Defend yourself!"

"Attention everyone! You never break up a chick fight!" Rye says.

Everyone starts nodding in agreement. "You just wait. When Peeta leaves you, you'll come crawling to me asking what to do. And I'll jump on the chance to say I told you so."

"Just because he left your plastic ass-" I punch me in the face.

"Come on bitch!" Delly says. She takes out her earrings and tosses them to Cato, adding her necklace and all of her other jewelry. I take off the ring and set it down on the table.

"Oh god this is going to be great." Rye rubs his hands together.

She punches me again, and I punch her back, so hard she falls down. She gets back up and I punch her again and she slaps me and then I punch her in the face and her nose starts gushing blood and I can see tears of pain in her eyes. "You broke my fucking nose!"

"Yeah, you've definitely got a black belt. Maybe that'll improve your looks." I say. She swings and I duck and kick her legs out from underneath her.

I completely lose every ounce of sanity I have left. I start punching the shit out of her so hard that I know she's going to get two black eyes and shit. It's not until Peeta literally has to rip me off of her that I realize she's unconscious. I'm shouting that I hope she's dead and I'm swearing up a storm and screaming and pushing Peeta to left me go. He has to physically pin my arms behind my back and pull me away.


	30. Chapter 30

When I walk out onto the deck the next morning after telling Peeta how much I hate her all night, I start laughing when I see her two black eyes and crooked nose. It's actually noon. I grab a chip from a bag. "Sorry about that." I snicker. "I thought you had a black belt. I don't even have a bruise."

"I could sue you." She says.

"I've got money, remember?" I ask. She glares at me.

"You could go to jail." She says.

I laugh softly and pat her shoulder. "Oh honey, it was self-defense. You see, I would have punched you first, but I didn't because my brain is functioning. No matter what do you, I'll win."

"Shut the hell up." She says. I'm about the hit her again when Peeta yanks me backwards. The boat pulls up to land.

"I want the two of you off my boat." Haymitch says.

"Where are we?" Delly asks.

"Mexico."

"Remember if you say a word I'll throw it right back in your face." I remind her. "I could technically get you in a shitload of trouble for threatening me and hitting me." She stands up and she looks scared.

"Please don't." She whispers.

Then her and Cato leave.

We are all silent for a long time. I sit next to Peeta.

I start to feel like an animal.

I know I don't like her but I never fight anybody and I was always proud of that.

I knocked her unconscious and I made her afraid of me.

Oh my god, I'm an animal.

I feel like I'm going to start crying because I'm ashamed of myself.

I get up and walk away. Nobody stops me but Peeta follows me. He somehow gets the door to shut.

"I'm an animal." I whisper. "I'm so mean! I was mean to an adult! I fought! I'm never mean to people! What's gotten into me! I'm a terrible person!"

"No you are not." He says. I'm wearing a thong again. I have another sundress on, too. I sit down on the bed and bury my head in my hands. He sits down next to me and rubs my back.

"I hate myself right now. I was mean to Haymitch and I made Delly fall unconscious!"

...9...

After a lot of pleading, Peeta me gaged to get me out on the deck.

But I just sit there with my knees against my chest and my music playing in my ears.

I don't speak to anyone. I know Peeta is explaining what is wrong with me. He pulls me against him but I don't respond. He pulls out my ear buds and takes my phone.

"Kitty?" Finn asks. I look up at him. "Don't get all worked up over this."

Too late.

I don't say anything.

"I miss home." I whisper.

"Home?" Peeta repeats.

"Not California. I miss New York and Kentucky." I sniff.

"How about we sing some songs?" Mom suggests.

"Let's sing some songs from when we were little." Johanna says. "That everyone knows. The adult songs."

Everyone looks at me, expecting me to start it.

Haymitch stands up and leads us to a room with instruments.

They don't know how to play. I sigh and grab a guitar. Finn knows drums but that's it. I think Jo knows violin, too. She grabs it so that answers me question.

"Your in charge kitty." Finn says.

"Old songs..." I think for a moment and then smile when I know which one I'm going to do.

All the adults eyes light up when I start playing.

Everyone sings with me.

_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,_

_You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,_

_May you never take one single breath for granted,_

_GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,_

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,_

_Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance._

_I hope you dance...I hope you dance._

_I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,_

_Never settle for the path of least resistance_

_Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',_

_Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',_

_Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,_

_When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,_

_Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance._

_I hope you dance...I hope you dance._

_I hope you dance...I hope you dance._

_(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,_

_Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.)_

_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,_

_Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance, _

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance. _

_Dance...I hope you dance. _

_I hope you dance...I hope you dance. _

_I hope you dance...I hope you dance.. _

_(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along _

_Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)_

"Oh honey!" Mom says when we finish. "Play my favorite song!" She says. "Nobody sing with her, please."

I takes me a moment to get what sing she's talking about. I out down the guitar and walk over to the piano and sit down. I start to play the tune and everyone gasps. "Her voice will sound incredible with this song."

"Wait let's post this since your technically supposed to be working." Haymitch says. He pulls out his phone. "Okay. Restart now."

_I know there's something in the wake of your smile_

_I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea_

_You've built a love but that love falls apart_

_Your little piece of heaven turns to dark_

_Listen to your heart_

_When he's calling for you_

_Listen to your heart_

_There's nothing else you can do_

_I don't know where you're going_

_And I don't know why_

_But listen to your heart_

_Before you tell him goodbye_

_Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile_

_The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea_

_They're swept away and nothing is what is seems_

_The feeling of belonging to your dreams_

_Listen to your heart_

_When he's calling for you_

_Listen to your heart_

_There's nothing else you can do_

_I don't know where you're going_

_And I don't know why_

_But listen to your heart_

_Before you tell him goodbye_

_And there are voices_

_That want to be heard_

_So much to mention_

_But you can't find the words_

_The scent and magic_

_The beauty that's been_

_When love was wilder then the rain_

_Listen to your heart_

_When he's calling for you_

_Listen to your heart_

_There's nothing else you can do_

_I don't know where you're going_

_And I don't know why_

_But listen to your heart_

_Before you tell him goodbye_

_Listen to your heart, ooh_

_I don't know where you're going_

_And I don't know why_

_But listen to your heart_

_Before you tell him goodbye_

I spin around in my chair. "What next?" I ask.

"Something you wrote that hasn't been released yet." Peeta begs.

"Yeah!" Mom says. Everyone starts agreeing.

"I suppose we can do that." I say. Haymitch nods in agreement but doesn't shut off the camera. I hesitate as I think for a long time. "Um...I think you guys will be able to guess when I wrote this..." I hesitate. "And there's normally a lot if other instruments in this." Haymitch sets the guitar beside me because I think he knows what song in going to sing.

_I always needed time on my own_

_I never thought I'd need you there when I cry_

_And the days feel like years when I'm alone_

_And the bed where you lie_

_Is made up on your side_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now?_

I switch to guitar quickly.

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through the day_

_And make it OK_

_I miss you_

I switch back to piano.

_I've never felt this way before_

_Everything that I do reminds me of you_

_And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor_

_And they smell just like you,_

_I love the things that you do_

_We were made for each other_

_Out here forever_

_I know we were, yeah, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was for you to know_

_Everything I do, I give my heart and soul_

_I can hardly breathe, I need to feel you here with me, yeah_

Back to guitar.

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear will always get me through the day_

_And make it OK_

_I miss you_

I finish in piano and hesitate before turning around. They're silent for a long time and I know Peeta's bothered. I'll talk to him later about it.

Haymitch shuts off the camera and posts it.

We all play stupid songs and make retarded jokes about them.

Then we have dinner and I take note on Peeta excusing himself right when he finishes.

I help clean up and then excuse myself and go to his room. He didn't bother to shut his door. He lies face down on his bed. I knock softly on the door and he rolls over and sits up. "If you keep dressing like that I'm going to have to do something about it." He warns. I smile and sit down in front of him.

"I know I've upset you from that song." I run my fingers through his hair.

"Not really. I knew you were upset about everything that happened and I knew that was how you felt but...I could hear the pain in your voice. I know I put it there."

"No you did not put it there." I mumble. He stares into my eyes for a long time.

"It feels like it." he whispers.

I say nothing.

His lips press softly against mine.

My favorite kiss begins. When it's so gentle and light and a make out. I have a feeling someone is watching us but I don't pull away because I don't care. My fingers are in his hair and his hands are on my hips.

I let him pull me into his lap and deepen the kiss.

I wish this could lead to what I want it to lead to but I can't and the thought makes me want to die.

I hear a loud overreacted cough in the doorway and we pull away and look over our shoulders. Johanna, Finn, Annie, Graham, Justice, Kegan, and Alexis and Rye.

I look back at Peeta who looks annoyed. "What?" He asks.

"Sorry to interrupt." Rye says.

"What?" Peeta repeats.

"We just wanted to hang out." Johanna says. I slide off Peeta's lap and lay down.

"Come in then." I say.

Peeta looks at me in outrage. "What?" I ask. "We can't have sex because Haymitch anyways." I cross my ankles. Peeta groans in annoyance and eyes the bathroom.

Everyone comes in and sits around the room. We decide on a movie called The Escape where this guy gets himself thrown into prison just so he can escape.

It's very interesting and I like it a whole lot.

I'm glad it's not a sappy romance thing.

I yawn when it ends. It's almost ten and Haymitch will be here soon.

I can't help it. With my head on Peeta's chest in the most comfortable position, I fall asleep.

...9...

I'm shocked, really, when the sun is up when I wake.

It's only Peeta and I in here and the door is shut and locked.

"Haymitch let you stay the night. It's only eight." Peeta informs me, kissing my forehead after telling me good morning.

I yawn and grin at the same time. "There's a lot we can do with an entire hour."

"Like finish that amazing make out." He smiles.

"Possibly, or sleep," I say. He acts like he's not upset as he lies back down.

"That too," He says.

I laugh and throw my leg over him to I'm sitting on his groin. I'm in a thong. "Or we can do more than make out." I kiss him with my favorite kiss.

...9...

A couple of weeks pass. We get to land and I realize we're in Hawaii. We go to an awesome hotel and I'm stopped multiple times to take pictures with strangers and people hug me and gasp when I walk past and compliment me.

It's pretty nice.

Haymitch doesn't play games either. Every couple shares a room and everyone not a couple that is sixteen or older gets their own room. The younger kids share with their parents.

Peeta and I spend the entire day together as shut-ins and then we meet everyone for an expensive dinner. We have to be dressed up, too.

Alexis who is sitting to my left leans over and whispers, "Rye and I made out. I won't be needing that song."

I gasp and then start choking on the food I shot down my throat and got stuck. I have to drink water to stop dying.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks, worry thick in his tone.

"I'm fine." I wipe at my tears and turn to Alexis with a look of shock on my face. "Are you serious?" I ask loudly. She shoots me a look and nods.

"Yes."

"So are you doing that thing?" I ask.

"Um..." She sounds confused. "Yes."

"That's excellent!" I say.

"What is excellent?" Rye asks. "Why are you two talking like your close? Are you friends? What is going on?"

"Remember that day that Katniss went missing for three hours?" Peeta asks.

I shoot him a look and he ignores me. "Yes." Rye says.

"She was on the phone with Alexis."

Rye eyes the two of us.

"She was?" He looks at me.

"Yes I was." I say.

"Why?"

"Does it matter?" I ask him.

"Yes it does." He says.

"No it doesn't." Alexis says. She shoots him a look telling him to stop and he doesn't say another word, he just drops his hands in his lap and ducks his head.

"I know why she was." Peeta says.

Alexis looks at me with a look that says "make him stop!"

I look at Peeta and he looks back at me. "What? He deserves to know!"

Why is he acting this way? He's honestly upsetting me.

"Can I be excused?" I blurt. I look at my mother.

"Me too?" Alexis asks.

Mom eyes the both of us for a long time. "Go ahead." She sighs. I stand up and walk away. Alexis follows me.

"Let's not go to our hotel for a while." Alexis suggests.

We walk onto the beach and stand at the shoreline. The water licks into shore and glides back to its home. I watch at it does it. My yellow strapless sundress billows out around me with my hair.

"I wonder what's gotten into him." Alexis says.

"Yes, me too." I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. "This isn't like him. He's never like this."

She doesn't say anything, she's just quiet for a long time. We stand here for a while, long enough that I know that everyone has gone back to bed by now. She stands up. "I'm going to bed." Then she's gone.

I stay here for at least an hour before getting up and heading back to the hotel room.

I know he's waiting for me. I brace myself before walking into the hotel room. He's sitting on the bed with his ankles crossed, staring at the blank TV screen. I shut the door and when it clicks, his eyes snap up to mine. I don't say anything to him, I just lock the door behind me and get clothes to take a shower to get ready for bed. I get my toothbrush and toothpaste.

"I'm sorry." He blurts. "I'm being such an asshole lately. I'm sorry."

"Us there something wrong?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"Is there something bothering you? Upsetting you? Is there someone on the side? Peeta, if your done with me or there's something wrong you really need to let me know."

"I don't want anybody but you." He stands up and walks over to me. "I'm really sorry for being such a jerk lately. I'm not cheating on you. I love you and I would never do that to you. I wouldn't even want to."

"Okay, but is there something wrong?" I ask.

"Stress, I suppose. I really need to tie the knots with the bakery back in New York and I'm trying to get one open in California but things aren't looking up. I don't know. I'm just stressed." He sighs.

"Don't be stressed about it. We'll figure it out, okay?" I whisper.

"Okay."

I place a soft kiss on his lips. "I'm going to get ready for bed."

He nods and lays back down on the bed. I walk into the bathroom and start the shower. I peel my clothing off and toss them in the hamper in the hotel room and then step under the hot spray and sigh as the hot water cools my stuff muscles. After I wash, shave and get out, I stand in a towel as I brush through my tangled hair, towel dry it and brush it again. Then I brush my teeth, drop my towel and pull on my panties, my sweatshirt and my yoga pants. I run my fingers through my hair and hang up the towel for my hair and the towel for my body and walk out of the bathroom. Peeta is struggling to stay awake. I sit down nm beside him and plant a kiss on his forehead. "Go to sleep." I whisper.

"I wanted to wait for you." He mumbles.

"Well I'm here." I slide under the covers and let him pull me against him. He shuts the lamp next to his bed off and turns off the TV. He slips his hands under my sweatshirt in the back. When his hands get up high enough for him to tell I'm not wearing a bra because I don't like sleeping with them, they freeze and curl into fists as he pulls his hands out. "What's the matter?" I sit up.

"Nothing." He says.

"Peeta, really, what's wrong?" I ask, worried.

"Nothing." He says quickly.

"No baby, what's wrong?"

"Your just really hard to resist." He mumbles.

"Well then don't resist." I laugh. "You don't have to resist me.

"I just..." He sucks in a breath.

"I don't care what time it is. I don't care if I'm asleep. You can fuck me whenever your dick feels the need." I lay back down. He flips on top of me.

"What did you just say?" He asks, pinning my arms above my head.

"I said you can fuck me whenever your dick feels like it."

His eyes close for a second. "God, that's hot."

I smile at his reaction. "I'm not that tired." Then he kisses me.

...9...

I wake first and take another shower and then get dressed in a white bikini and a purple ankle long sundress that ties around the neck.

When I finish getting dressed, I turn around to see he's wide awake, watching me. "If you were anyone else I would call you a rapist." I admit.

"But you see, last night proves I'm not a rapist." He says. "Or was it only me hearing you moan?"

"Shut up." I mutter, my face getting red.

...9...

We're walking to meet the family for breakfast. He's in a blue muscle shirt and a pair of shorts and I'm still wearing my white bikini and purple sundress. He pulls me to a stop and plucks a purple flower off of a bush and puts it in my hair. "You look beautiful." He says. I smile.

"I love you." I kiss him.

"I love you too."

He continues to pull me to where the family is. We walk into the room.

"Oh goodness!" Mom says, looking at me in shock. I look down.

"What?"

"You look beautiful!"

"I like your dress." Annie says.

"Oh thank you." I smile.

"I wish I looked like you." Johanna says.

"I think you should grow your hair out." I say as I sit down.

We chat about random things at breakfast and then we follow Haymitch to where we're going. He puts us in the boat and drives somewhere. It's not a long ride. When he stops, we're at some place with dolphins. "Let's go swimming with them." He says. I peer over the edge of the boat. They're making noises. Nobody seems brave enough to jump in with them. I pull my dress off and sit on the edge of the boat. I stick my feet in the water and one of them sprays me with water. I giggle. Jo sits down next to me and Finn sits down on my other side.

"Ladies first." Finn says. Then he pushes me into the water. Jo falls down next to me and then we're side by side in the clear ocean with dolphins nudging us and squealing. They're trying to get us to touch them. I reach my hand out and touch one of them. Everyone else jumps into the water and the dolphins keep nudging us.

We swim around with them for hours on end, laughing and petting then bad talking about random things.

It's not till dinner time that we get out and go out to dinner.

I start feeling cold and exhausted.

I curse myself because I didn't put on sunscreen. I nudge Peeta under the table. He looks at me and raises his eyebrows.

"How sunburt am I?" I whisper. He starts at me and then moves my hair out if the way and looks at my chest. His eyes widen and he looks at

My back and let's out a low hiss.

"Really, really bad." He says. I'm done with dinner. It hurts all over my body. I stand up and then sit right back down. I got the back of my legs and it feels like I stretched my skin out.

"What's the matter?" Mom asks.

"She's burnt."

"You didn't put sunscreen on?"

"I forgot..." I say.

"Let's go." Peeta stands up. I shake my head.

"I can't get up."

"I can't imagine how bad it hurts." Alexis winces. Peeta picks me up and I let out a low hiss and hide my face in his chest.

...9...

I'm forced to wear nothing but panties. I lay face down on the bed. "I don't deserve you." I mumble as Peeta rubs lotion all over me. I know he's enjoying himself.

"I don't deserve you." He says.

"We don't deserve each other." I whisper. He stops rubbing in the lotion and sighs.

"Can I ask you something?" He asks.

"You just did."

"I'm serious."

"Fine. What is it?"

"Hey we're coming in." Finn shouts outside the door. Peeta grabs a soft blanket and throws it over my back and covers my ass.

He interrupts at the wrong time but I miss my best friend. Peeta opens the door.

"Shit Kitty." Finn sits down next to me. I turn my head to glare at him.

"Shut up." I mumble.

"Damn Brainless." Johanna snickers.

"I feel bad for you." Annie whispers. We don't really talk.

"Oh, I'll be fine." I say.

"So Blight and I kissed." Johanna says.

"Who the hell is Blight?" I ask.

"Shit, I didn't tell you about him. He's my boyfriend."

"How long have you been dating?"

"A couple months. We kissed the day we left. He kissed me goodbye."

"Aww!" I tease. "That's adorable." Peeta excuses himself and leaves. "Fuck you."

We catch up and talk for a long time. Peeta comes back at three in the morning and we're still talking and everything.

...8...

When I wake up, Peeta and Johanna are asleep on the edge of the bed, Annie and Finn are asleep next to me and the sun is up.


	31. Chapter 31

I've been in bed for a week and a half and finally the sunburn is gone. I take a shower and brush my teeth and walk out to the main part of the room. Peeta is sitting up, looking around.

I missed most of the vacation. Haymitch walks into the room. He takes me to a music room. "If you record the last two songs we can have the album on the shelf before you get home."

So I do.

I record the last two songs and then we meet for breakfast and everyone seems really happy that I'm off my ass. "Sweetheart, can you see about the plane?" Haymitch asks as we walk to the beach.

"Want me to put sunscreen on you?" Kegan asks me hopefully.

"No." I say. I toss my sunscreen to Peeta as I dial Cameron. He lathers me up.

"Hey Katniss." Cameron says.

"Hey. Is the plane good to go?" I ask.

"Yeah. It's ready. I was actually just about to call you to let you know. Anywhere you need to go?"

"Actually I'm in Hawaii right now." I say.

"Cool. When are you coming home?" he asks.

"Tomorrow."

"Want me to come?" he asks.

"Can you?"

"Of course."

Kegan watches in pure jealously as Peeta lathers me in sunscreen.

….a….

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I ask when Haymitch delivers the news.

"I know." He sighs. It's lunch time and we're still at the beach.

"This is ridiculous!"

The news that Cato raped me got out because Delly opened her fatass mouth, now the entire world thinks I'm pregnant with another man's baby, they think Peeta killed Cato and they think I've killed myself with the baby still inside of me.

All because I haven't been home.

"Are you fucking kidding?" I repeat.

"No, I'm not kidding."

I'm angry. I'm really angry.

Not to mention there are some people saying I let Cato do it and I liked it and now I'm the worlds whore and people are saying it's a matter of time till I become a porn star.

I'm furious, actually. I could hit someone right now. "I'm so done." I shake my head. He watches me closely but doesn't say a word.

"It's insane, the shit they say."

"I hate everyone." I say. I drop my phone on the towel. "I need some time." I storm away. I'm so fucking pissed off. I want to scream. I want to cry and kill somebody. I need to take out my anger out. I walk down the beach alone, thankful nobody is following me.

_Why the hell do the media do this?_

_Why the hell does this make them happy? _

_Why do they get paid for this? _

_Why the hell do people BELIEVE this?_

I sit down at the end of the beach and pull my knees to my chest, drawing middle fingers in the sand.

A lot of time passes. Someone sits down next to me and is silent. "Nice drawings." Finn says. I look at him and see he's alone. I'm slightly happy it's only Finn. I love Peeta with everything I've got, but I love Finn just as much and I miss him. I see Jo, too.

"It helps me keep from killing somebody." I say.

"Makes sense." He chuckles.

We're both in a comfortable silence for a while, and I rest my head on his shoulder. He throws his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close. It's an innocent move for anyone that knows us, but for others they would think we're dating.

"It's fucked up." He whispers. "The way they treat you."

"I know it is." I say. "They're pushes my right to the edge of the cliff. It takes one nudge for me so stop this bullshit."

"On the bright side, everyone is buying your album so you're really fucking rich. Like…fifty million."

"Damn." I chuckle. "That's a lot of money."

"It is." He agrees. "Can you promise me something?" he asks.

"It depends." I look at him.

"If they push you off the cliff…" I see his eyes fill with tears. "Don't kill yourself."

"I won't. I don't know what I'll do, but I won't kill myself."

"Good." He kisses my temple. "They're just a bunch of bastards."

….a….

I'm actually quite stressed at the fact that I'm back home. The plane touches the ground and I'm pissed at the fact that I'm here. When I walk off of the terminal, I notice people staring at me. Someone pulls me into a hug. I know it's Jen. I hug her back and hide my face in her shoulder. She moves her head to whisper in my ear. "Don't let them get to you. You're not as fucking whore, you're not pregnant and you didn't like it. They're all asshole's who need fake ass stories to put them to sleep at night. Ignore them. They're convinced I'm engaged to Nick and I'm actually dating Josh. Just don't listen to them."

"I can't do that." I whisper.

"Well then just don't do anything stupid." She releases me and pats both of my arms. "Okay?" I nod my head.

…a…

Jen is on my right and Peeta is on my left, Finn is behind me and everyone else is just standing here in the driveway of my house, staring at my car.

My jeep has bents and scratches all over it and on big red letters it says _whore _all over the place.

And I'm pushed off the cliff.

There is literally a huge lake across the street from our house. I know the paparazzi are bound to be watching right now. My hands are in fists. I dig my car keys out of my suitcase.

"What are you doing?" Peeta asks.

"I'm done. I'm so fucking done. I'm done with all of this." I unlock my car and get everything out of it. Everything on my keys that are important, I take out and place them in Peeta's hand.

"Katniss what are you doing?" Finnick asks. "Don't break the promise."

"I'm not breaking the promise." I start my jeep and order everyone to move. I turn it around so it's facing the lake and then I walk into the garage to get a cinder block. I put it right down on the gas pedal and slam the car door and watch as it soars forwards, right into the lake.

"What are you done with?" Peeta asks.

"Everything; I'm done with singing and talk shows and I'm done with the media and California. I'm going back to New York." I walk into the house. Jen had been taking care of the dogs. I start getting boxes from the garage and everyone follows me, watching as I start packing. "I'm done pretending to be happy when really I just want to kill everyone that looks at me. I'm done with people acting like they care when they don't. I'm done with people assuming shit. I'm done with Delly and I swear to fucking god if I even see her again I'll kill her. I don't even care at this point who stays and who goes but as of right now I'm fucking done trying to make people happy when every time I do, they come up with some pathetic lie that everyone believes. I miss going to Starbucks every day and sitting there on the days I have off to talk to Jake and Kate and Finn and I miss movie nights and laying around eating chips in my bra and underwear watching TV and not doing anything. I miss not getting stared at like I have two heads when I walk out the door, I don't want to see my face on magazines, I don't want to be a celebrity! I want to just be that girl from Kentucky that nobody knows. I was perfectly happy because before I sang that fucking song and the fame and fortune took over my mind and turned me into someone that I'm not. I've been a bitch to so many people and the profanity that I can't seem to control is making me want to scream. I'm _done_ with everything and I'm going back to New York and if you guys don't want to come you don't have to." I take a deep breath and realize that in all the ranting I've already packed most of the living room.

They all watch me in shock. "I think we're going back to France." Mr. Mellark says.

"And us to Kentucky." Mom adds, my family nodding.

"I'm with you whenever you go." Finn says.

"And I'm with you." Annie says to Finn.

"I'm with Brainless." Jo adds.

"I'm with Rye. I don't want to be famous anymore." Alexis adds.

"I'm with my parents."

Everyone is going back to where they love. Annie lives in New York anyways, so Finn is moving there, Jo is moving there.

Everyone looks at Peeta to see where he's going. "Well I hate California and I'm going with you wherever you go."

And then everyone leaves to pack, leaving Peeta and I alone.

I pack upstairs first, my bedroom. I fold up blankets and comforters and mark boxes with sharpies and I let the dogs out and feed them and kiss their heads. I wash clothing and I'm overstressed. Peeta puts both of his hands on my arms. "Stop." He says. "Stop overworking. How about you go and get your car taken care of?"

"There's so much to do!" I say. Rye, Graham, Justice and Kegan walk into the house just then.

"Mom sent us to help." Rye says.

"See? They'll help. Go get your car taken care of."

…a…

I should have known better. I walk into the house and see that no boxes are labeled, the dogs are still outside and the boys are upstairs and I can hear them laughing.

Something tells me I'm not going to like what I see. I walk into the bedroom and stop short.

They're turned all of my thongs into balls and they're using my bow as a bat.

"What the hell!" I shriek. They all look at me in panic and every grin disappears. I rip my bow from Peeta's hand, teeth clenched. "I want all five of you to go and help my mother pack."

"You don't need help?" Peeta asks.

"I'll be fine, thank you."

They leave and I clean up their mess. I've got all upstairs packed when my phone starts ringing.

"Hello?"

"I'm going to kill them." Mom says.

"What'd they do?" I ask, marking the bathroom box as 'Peeta's bathroom stuff'.

"Well they were helping your father bring the TV to the van and they _dropped_ it and broke it. We can't afford to get a new one."

"I'll get you a new one. I need you to let Mrs. Mellark know. She'll handle it."

"Okay." She hangs up.

I mark the last box and start moving everything downstairs. With a lot of struggling, I manage to get the bed downstairs and I keep moving stuff. I hear the front door slam and I push the last bed down and see Peeta standing with his mother in the doorway. "He's all yours." She pushes his forwards and walks out of the house, shutting the door firmly behind her.

"You broke the TV?" I ask.

"And Effie's vase."

"The one she got from her grandmother?"

"Um…" she looks down at the floor.

I sigh loudly. "What has gotten into you?"

"It should be the other way around because I have gone into you-"

I sigh loudly. "Take this stuff out to the truck." I point at the furniture. "Please."

"Okay."


	32. Chapter 32

Jo and I are in Washington with Lucky in my backseat. We're beating our hands on the dashboard along to the music and scream singing songs.

As the tone gets softer, I begin to tap instead of bang and Johanna joins me, singing along with me.

We switch the station to country and stop tapping, only singing along.

_Would you walk to the edge of the ocean_

I stop at a light.

_Just to fill my jaw with sand_

_Just in case I get the notion_

_To let it run through my hand_

_Let it run through my hand_

The fire red light changes apple green and I step down on the gas petal and follow Finnick, Peeta and Lexi in the moving van in front of me.

_Well, I don't want the whole world_

_The sun, the moon, and all their light_

_I just want to be the only girl_

_You love all your life_

_You love all your life_

We hit another light and stop. I count the seconds off till the light turns green and start the next verse with Johanna.

_Would you catch a couple thousand fireflies_

_Yeah, put them in a lamp to light my world_

_All dressed up in a tux and bowtie_

_Hand deliver to a lonely girl_

_To a lonely lonely girl_

I make a left turn.

_Well, I don't want the whole world__  
__The sun, the moon, and all their light__  
__I just want to be the only girl__  
__You love all your life__  
__You love all your life_

Lucky starts barking along with the music, making both Johanna and I laugh.

There isn't a single person in my family that isn't gifts with a singing voice.

_Well, I don't want the whole world_

_The sun, the moon, and all their light_

_I just want to be the only girl_

_You love all your life_

_You love all your life  
_

_Lately I've been writing desperate love songs_

_Mostly I sing them to the walls,_

_You could be the center piece of my obsession_

_If you would notice me, at_

_all yeah_

_Well I don't want the whole world, no_

_The sun, the moon, and all their light_

_I just want to be the only girl_

_You love all your life_

_You love all your life_

_You love all your life  
Life  
Yeah_

As the song fades into silence, we pull into a Starbucks. Peeta gets out of the car with Finn. I roll my windows down for Lucky and get out, Johanna follows. My horn beeps when I lock my car and plop down on the hood.

Peeta places a kiss on my lips. It's snowing outside because it is still late January. "Want coffee?" he asks.

"Okay." I stand up. He gives me a hug, and then I hug Finn.

"What's up with this?" Finn hugs me back.

"I just love you guys, is all." I say.

"Love you too!" Finn releases me and grabs Johanna and throws her over his shoulder, gesturing for Peeta to do the same.

He does, and they run us across the street like we're all toddlers. Finn orders our coffee as the three of us sit down at a table. He gets me my normal latte and then he gets everyone else what they get and he gets us all a snack. We tell stupid jokes. "So where are you going to work?" Finn asks me.

"At the bakery, of course," Peeta says.

"I am?" I ask.

"Of course you are!" he exclaims.

"I guess the bakery then." I say.

"You'll burn everything." Johanna says.

"She won't be cooking."

"Kitty, if you wear a dress, he can fuck you on his desk."

Instead of feeling embarrassed like I would when I was famous, I laugh. "Hopefully." I wink at Peeta and he just smiles and shakes his head.

"I can already see it."

"What? Us fucking on-"

"No, the change in you; you're already getting back to the way you were before you were famous. And us fucking on my desk."

The four of us start laughing, and people look our way but I ignore the looks of shock. "I haven't changed that much."

"Yes you have." Johanna says. "You used to get so embarrassed about everything and anything and you sore so much and you glared at everyone that upset you and you ran away. You have hardly done those things since we left the house."

"She's right." Peeta says.

"Yeah Kitty." Finn says. I smile.

"Well I hope that's not a bad thing."

"It's a wonderful thing." Peeta kisses my cheek and stands up. "Let's go."

We head back to the cars and I kiss Peeta goodbye, holding my coffee in my hand. He winds his arms around my waist and his voice is full of concern when he whispers, "Drive save."

"I will. I promise. I love you." I kiss him for the third time.

"I love you too."

I hug Finn goodbye and then Johanna and I get in my car.

We set off again.

…..a…..

At three in the morning, we're wide awake, listening to CD's and talking.

"How did you know when you loved Peeta?" Jo asks.

"I didn't know. It happened." I shrug. I check the gas for the trillionth time. We are currently in the middle of nowhere and we have no cell service. I don't want my car to break down because if it does we have no way of telling Peeta and Finn, who are right in front of us. They'll have to notice that we're gone.

"I think I love Blight but I don't know how to tell." She sighs.

"You'll just know." I assure her.

She sighs. "I suppose so." Peeta and Finn stop in front of us suddenly, causing me to slam on the breaks and yank up the emergency breaks. We get a centimeter from hitting the truck. Peeta taps my window and I roll it down.

"Can we pull over and sleep? Finnick's exhausted and there's no way I'll last all night." He says.

"Okay." I say.

"Okay." He kisses my forehead and walks away. I shut off the car after pulling over and I getmy blanket and Johanna's I take out Lucky and Peeta takes out Lexi and then I let Lucky curl onto my lap. I cover myself with my blanket in the car and lay my seat all the way back.

It doesn't take long for me to drift off.

…..a…..

It's a week later at one in the morning that we hit New York City. Johanna is moving back into her old place, Finn to his and Peeta and I are actually leaving his townhouse and going to another one. It's on the docks and we have our own private dock and a small backyard for our dogs. It's right down the street from the new location of the bakery, too, so it's going to be nice. It was two million dollars, too.

I drop Johanna off at home. Cameron flew her stuff out here and put them in her house so she's good. I shake her awake and she jumps and hits her head on the roof of the car. "Oh. We're home." She yawns.

"Bye." I say.

"See you." She gets out after gathering what she has and grabs the key from on top of the door and goes inside. I yawn, not wanting to drive all the way home because i[m exhausted from driving for a week straight. I follow the GPS to my house. Peeta's home, waiting outside. His car is in the garage, so I pull into the driveway and shut the car off. I get Lucky and my phone, purse and wallet and keys and get out.

I really need to pay Cameron big time. He's been flying for a week. He flew Finn and Jo's things home and put them in their house, he took Peeta's truck, and he took both families one at a time and helped them get home.

I'm giving him five million for this. I stumble up the steps to Peeta. "We don't have anything in the house yet. We'll have to do that tomorrow. Is the floor okay?"

"I just want to sleep." I mumble.

"So is the floor okay?" he smiles.

"Can I sleep?" I ask.

"Yeah, you're half awake. Let's go." He opens the door and pulls me inside.

PEETA'S POV

I shut the door behind her. Her eyes start to close, she drops everything in her arms, and Lucky included, and then starts to fall. I catch both of her arms before her head hits the floor and pick her up. I walk to the back door and let out Lexi and Lucky and hold her for a while before letting the dogs back in. I go upstairs to the living room and lay her down on the blanket and pillows I laid out. After deciding on what to do with her, I sit her up and take off her coat, her shirt and her pants, and then after biting my lip and watching her sleep in her bra and underwear, I take off my shirt and do away with her bra too. Then I pull my shirt over her head and pull her arms through it. She makes a soft noise and her hand closes around my wrist. Her grip is tight and I can tell by the fact that she hasn't opened her eyes that she doesn't know it's me and she's freaking out because she knows her bra is off. I pull myself from her grip and place a kiss on her forehead. "It's just me." I whisper. She opens her eyes to stare at me. The moonlight glints off of her gray irises.

She's really tired and I want to know why she's making herself stay awake. She seems to be refusing to close her eyes. "I thought you were Cato."

"Cato's never going to lay a finger on you again, and if he does I'll kick his ass." She sits up and crawls towards me and curls up in my lap. I rub her back and sit all the way down. I can see the change in her already. She's back to normal. I see the way she hesitates before she touches me, like I'll break. The way she looks at people and how she addresses others.

"Peeta?" she whispers after sitting in my lap for a long time.

"Hmm?" I rest my chin on her head.

"I'm sorry for being so bipolar since I became famous…I couldn't really help it."

"Katniss Joy." I whisper. "Don't worry about that. It doesn't matter."

"But I love you and I was so mean to everyone. Your family have never really even met the real me."

"Well it's not too late. It's never too late."

"I feel like it's impossible for me to be me again."

"Nothing is impossible." I whisper. She chuckles suddenly and lifts her head to meet my eyes.

"Have you ever tried to slam a revolving door?"

I smile. "Tushe."

She giggles. "You know what would make me feel better?" she whispers, her eyes going serious suddenly.

"What, Katniss Joy?" I ask. She reaches up and tangles her fingers in my hair, leaning backwards so she is laying down with her head on the pillow, me hovering above her.

"You." And then she kisses me. This is slow, and filled with love and care and emotion and passion. I kiss her back at her own pace and lean closer to her, my elbows on either side of her head, supporting myself. "All of you." She whispers when she pulls away to breathe.

…a…

KATNISS'S POV

Last night was different. I could feel it with every touch. It meant a lot more. I'm brushing past Peeta to go upstairs to the bathroom to put down a box of towels when he grabs my arm, making me drop the box. He pins me against the wall and kisses my ferociously, so intensely that my knees go weak and he has to hold me up. It's not until a moan escapes my lips that he pulls away, licking his lips. My arms are pinned above my head. I stare at him. "What was that for?" I ask. He shrugs and lets my hands go, kissing my forehead. "Your sexy, is all." Then he walks away, taking my box of towels with him. I sigh and go outside, singing Blown Away by Carrie Underwood. My neighbor is sitting on the porch smoking a cigarette. He eyes me for a long time and I act like I don't see him, I just keep singing quietly to myself. I grab the last box and I haven't even turned around before Peeta takes the box from my hands and disappears.

Finn pulls up when Peeta comes back outside and they both refuse to let me help bring in the furniture. When Peeta and Finn come back outside for the second piece of furniture, I shiver and Peeta sends me inside.

"I'm okay." I insist. "I want to help!"

"You're a female. Girls don't help. You know how I feel about that, Katniss Joy."

"But-"

"Fine, you can go grocery shopping." He says.

"Okay!"


	33. Chapter 33

I remember on my drive home from the store that Valentines day is tomorrow.

And this is Peeta I'm with.

And Peeta always has things planned. Especially when it comes to our relationship. I see an art store on my way home and it clicks. I pull into a spot and get out. I get him a stand thing and a ton of canvases and pants and brushes and everything and go to my car and open the thing in the floor in the back and hide everything in there.

…..a…..

"Babe?" I shout, shutting the front door behind me and juggling the grocers up the stairs to the kitchen. After searching every room and the backyard, I decide my fiancé is not here. I sigh and, instead of bothering him, I put away the groceries and go upstairs and unpack our room.

I end up unpacking the whole house. Peeta walks in the door right on cue with when I finish. "Kat?" he calls.

"Yeah?" I ask. He comes upstairs and plops down next to me on the couch.

"Let's get married." He says.

"What?" I ask.

"I want to get married. Let's get married."

I actually laugh. "It's not that simple."

"Yeah it is. I went and got your wedding band. Let's get married."

"Peeta we don't have anything planned. We don't have the guest list or the bridal party or-"

"Let's plan a wedding."

"Peeta, I'm going to need some help with that."

"Which is why Effie is coming to stay with us."

"Peeta…" I bite my lip. He looks down. Down at me halfway on his lap. Down at our joined hands. Down at the ring on my finger.

"Don't you want to marry me?" he whispers.

"Peeta, of course I do! Of course I want to marry you! We can't just get married right away! It takes months of planning!"

"But it's worth it!" he insists. "Please?"

"Of course we can get married!" I laugh. "I want to get married; we can't just get married."

"Whatever. We're getting married." He grins like a child. "Now, Effie will be here tomorrow so I want you to open this today." He places a box in my hands.

"Peeta." I warn.

"Katniss Joy." He says strictly. "Just shut up and open it! Happy early Valentine's day." he looks excited as he rubs his hands together.

I pull the top off and gasp. It's a gold necklace but it's a locket and the word _always_ is engraved in it. "Peeta…" I bite my lip and look up at him.

"Do you like it?" he asks.

"Peeta this is incredible." I whisper.

"So you like it?" he asks.

I nod my head. "That's not even the best part of your present, but look." He picks up the box and opens the heart. It's a locket. It's a picture from the first day we met on the right side. On the left, is says _I knew the first time I saw you, you'd be kinda hard to forget._

"Oh Peeta!" tears start sliding down my cheeks. He closes the locket, sweeps my hair out of the way and puts it on for me. I tackle him in a kiss, knocking him backwards onto the couch. He places his hands firmly but gently on my shoulders and sits up. He shifts me in his lap so my abdomen is pressed against his stomach. His hands are on my ass and mine are in his hair. All of my hair is to the right side of his face and my head is bowed downward, because the position I am in makes me taller.

The door downstairs slams. "Dammit!" he curses loudly and rips our lips apart. Hid hands release my ass and he pushes me off of him and hands me my phone and pulls me against him to make it seem like we were like this. Rye moved to New York with Alexis but they left a day after us. They both walk into the living room.

"Hey." Rye looks between the two of us.

"Hi." Peeta says. I say nothing; I just power up my phone and go on candy crush.

They start to chat, and I revel in my angry at the fact that I was really enjoying making out with Peeta and I know it was going to lead to sex and I wish we weren't interrupted.

"Kat?" Rye waves his hand in front of my face. I look at him and I must be glaring.

"What?" I ask. He arches his eyebrows.

"Are you on your period or something?"

I sit up and lean forward so my elbows are on my knees and narrow my eyes. "Unless you physically see my putting in a tampon, don't just assume that I'm angry because I'm on my period, because that's just annoying, and tonight, when your sleeping, I'm just going to assume you're dead and bury you in the backyard."

Alexis coughs and then snickers.

"Okay, you're not on your period." Rye chuckles. "So what's wrong then? Why are you mad at me?"

"If you must know, you interrupted a very hot make out that was leading to sex and I'm quite upset about it."

Rye looks at Peeta in outrage.

"Why didn't you tell me that? I would've came back later!"

Rye stands up and takes Alexis. "We're coming back tomorrow." They walk away.

We start making out again.

...9...

I'm covered with a blanket when I wake up, on the couch. I can hear noises in the kitchen and my clothing, which was thrown around the living room, is on the coffee table. I know it's Peeta in there.

I stand up and wrap the blanket around me and walk into the living room. He looks at me and smiles. "You know what's adorable?" He asks.

"What?"

"Even while we were having sex, you still kept the necklace on. And your hair is crazy and you look adorable. You always look adorable."

I know he knows I'm naked. He also knows I don't like wearing clothing. "Thanks." I whisper. He's wearing gray sweats that are hanging low on his waist, low enough for me to see the beautiful V that leads down to his-

"What?" He asks.

I snap my eyes up to his when I realize I'm staring. "Huh?"

He smiles and walks over to me. "Why are you staring at me, Katniss Joy?" He asks softly.

"Um..." I lick my lips. "I just..." I sigh. "You look really um...sexy..."

"I'm wearing sweatpants. What's so sexy about that?" He laughs.

"Well...this..." I lightly trace the V that leads down to his dick. "Because it leads here." I pat his groin through his sweats and stand up.

I smile when I see the immediate reaction his lower half gets when I go anywhere near his area. He moves to the stove in silence and I know I'm killing him. I watch him cook, allowing my naked self on the counter, spread out all over. He looks at me and his eyes widen.

A long time passes of us playing a stare contest. Then the fire alarm starts going off, which makes him look at the stove to see that he burnt our dinner to a crisp. I snicker and hop off the counter, throwing the blanket over my shoulder. "I'm going to get dressed."

"Oh no your not." He shuts the stove off and picks me up with my legs around his stomach. The blanket falls from my shoulder and he stares into my eyes as he snatches the blanket and my clothes and marches upstairs. "We can have ramen noodles for dinner." He slams the bedroom door behind us.

...9...

When I wake up, he's gone, and I burst out laughing as I get oh and grab one if his shirts, pull on panties. It's morning. I skip downstairs and lay down on top of him on the couch. "You just couldn't resist me last night."

"I believe it was you who told me not to resist." he smiles.

"Yes it was." I giggle. He grins.

"Happy Valentines day." He whispers. "I'll be back. Stay here." I stand up and run to the stairs and go down them.

"Hey! I wasn't done with you!" He shouts as I run out the front door, not caring that I'm wearing only Peeta's shirt and a pair of panties. I stick my head in the door and grab the keys and unlock my car and then I go to the back and lift the thing up and get everything I bought yesterday and shut the top. Then I go back I the house, back up the stairs and back into the living room, setting the bags face down on the floor. I tackle him in a kiss.

"This is your present. It's not as good as mine but..."

"It's the thought." He taps my nose and I giggle.

"Well go look!" I push him and he stands up.

"What one first?" He asks.

"It doesn't matter!" I'm squirming around and I'm really excited for him to open them. He grabs one bag and dumps it. I see the way his eyes widen in shock and he grabs the other bag and dumps them, too.

"Oh my god, Kat." He looks shocked honestly.

"Do you not like it? I still have the receipt."

"I love it!" He grins. "Where'd you get this stuff?"

"I don't know where. I saw the place on the way home and I got them...do you like it? Honestly Peeta, do you?"

"Yes! I love it!" He says.

"But do you know what this means?" I ask, sitting down in front of him.

"What?" He asks.

"You have to paint me a picture." I say.

"Deal."

...9...

Peeta is staying here to make chicken salad sandwiches and I'm getting dressed to go pick up Effie.

I stare at my wardrobe.

What the hell? Leather jackets? Mini skirts?

I gag and grab a t-shirt and a pair if faded jeans.

"What's with the gagging?" Peeta asks.

"My clothes disgust me. What happened to my t-shirts?" I ask, pulling my shirt over my head and pulling on my faded skinny jeans. He chuckles. I pull on my boots and my black coat and braid my hair. Then I grab my purse which has everything I need, give him a kiss and walk away. I get in my car and drive to the airport.

I'm guessing I'm late because Effie is already here. She smiles when she sees me, and she's tearing up.

"Hi." I smile. She gives me a hug and holds me at arms length. "Your so much better." She says.

"What do you mean?"

"Well your wearing a t-shirt."

"Yes." I smile.

"So do you have your bridal party picked out yet?" She asks, walking beside me to the car.

"No. I've got nothing. I'm sort of liking soft yellow, so I've decided that may be the color of the dresses. Other than that, I've got nothing."

She nods. "You don't even know who your maid of honor will be?"

"Oh, Prim. But I want Jo, too."

"Well how about they're both your maids of honor?" She suggests.

"That can happen?" I ask.

"Honey, you guys can do whatever you want for your wedding." She says.

"Okay. Then they're both my maids if honor." I say. She nods. "I want Jen to be my number one bridesmaid, and I want Annie and Alexis and Christina and Rebecca." They're my other cousins, Christina and Rebecca. "Oh, and Lauren."

"Okay." She nods.

"And maybe Audrey and Maddie as flower girls."

She nods again. "Sounds good."

We chat about flowers and what to do and what type of wedding and themes and guests on the way to the house. Finn and Jo are here. I walk into the house with Effie and shut the door. Lucky and Lexi come running. I pick up Lucky and go upstairs with Lexi following me. Johanna has guy with her. I see him kiss her cheek and I grin.

"You must be Blight." I say. I stick my hand out and release Lucky. "I'm Jo's cousin, it's nice to meet you." He shakes my hand.

We all eat lunch when Alexis and Rye come over. They don't comment about yesterday and they don't make fun of us.

I'm excited to plan the wedding.


	34. Chapter 34

"Katniss! Are you even listening to me?" Effie asks. With the wedding just two months away, the whole family here to help with the last touches and _me_ having to make all of the decisions, I'm overly stressed and my back is aching from the many knots that have formed there. It's September and the wedding in November 28th.

"I'm sorry!" I run my hands over my face. "What did you ask me?" she sighs.

"I asked you if you scheduled the next dress fitting."

"Yes. Wait…no." I sigh. "I don't know!"

Peeta takes charge. "Yes she did, she was on the phone last night." He says.

"Okay, what day is it?" she asks.

I don't fucking remember! "Um…" I think for a moment. "I think I scheduled it for the twelfth."

"Of this month?" she asks.

"Yes."

"She did." Peeta says.

"Okay." Effie takes a deep breath.

"And his ring?" she points at Peeta.

"I have to go get it tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes."

Mom stands up. "I'll get the ring for you." She volunteers.

"No, I'll do it." Johanna says. "I'm one of the maids. I have to do my job."

"I'll come with you!" Prim says.

"We're done for the day." Peeta says.

"We can't! We don't have time for this!" Effie says.

""I don't care what we have time for. We're done. We're not discussing the wedding for the rest of the day."

"Peeta," Mrs. Mellark begins.

"I don't care. We're _done_. Katniss is stressed to hell and she needs a break."

"I'm fine." I brush him off.

He's getting frustrated. "You are not fine." He says.

"Well I will be anyways." I say.

"Katniss." He says. "Stop, you're not fine. You're ready to start crying."

"I am not!"

"Your eyes tell me you are." He says.

"Well I'm not." I say.

Yes I am. I'm bout ready to rip my hair out. I'm so frustrated.

"Maybe Peeta's right." Effie says after a bit. "Go take a hot bath or something."

"But we don't have time-"

"We can spare one day." She says.

"But-"

"Go." She says.

"But-"

"Katniss." Dad stands up. "Go. Now." He points at the stairs.

"But-"

Peeta sighs sharply and throws me over his shoulder, stomping off to the stairs. "Hey! We don't have time for this! Peeta!"

Peeta wins by default when he sets me down on the bathroom counter and I start crying into my hands. He doesn't say 'I told you so' or 'you need to calm down' or 'I knew it'. No, instead he start s a bath and pulls me into a hug. "I don't want you stressing out this bad about this. This is supposed to be _happy." _

"We don't have time to procrastinate." I choke.

"We have all the time." He says.

"No we-"

"Yes we do. We don't have to get married that day. We can change the date whenever the hell we want to. You are not allowed to stress out like this, do you hear me Katniss Joy. No more stressing."

"Okay." I whisper.

"Promise?" he asks.

"I promise."

"Good. Now stop crying." He stands my up and pulls off me shirt.

PEETA'S POV

I'm honestly upset she's this stressed out, but I know it's bound to happen. Delly did the same shit too but she was a completely diva and was screaming at her bridesmaids. Katniss only argues when she's really frustrated. I go downstairs and sigh.

"Is she crying?" Johanna asks.

"Yes." She isn't really listening to me and I know she's still going to stress out about this.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Johanna says. Christina, Rebecca, Alexis, Annie, Lauren, Prim and Johanna go upstairs.

I haven't seen her smile or laugh in weeks and she's been so tired that she never wants sex or anything anymore.

I don't blame her. Everyone clears the couch I'm on. Kat come back downstairs later and left her hair down. She's in a tank top and a pair of shorts.

Nobody says a word about the wedding. She lays down on her back with her feet on my lap. Lucky is much bigger now. Katniss snaps her fingers and Lucky hops up onto the couch. Katniss grabs her and makes her lay down and uses her as a pillow.

"Let's watch a movie." Dad suggests.

Katniss is already half asleep so I know she doesn't care what movie. Dad looks at her. "Don't bother. She's already almost asleep anyways." I say.

"Let's watch Hocus Pocus." Johanna says. "That's the best Halloween movie. It's getting around that time."

I know Kat's back is hurting because I've caught her with her hand on it a few times. They start Hocus Pocus. I scoot closer to her, facing her and I put my hand on her back and press down lightly. I hear a low whimper escape her and she swats at me. "Stop." She mumbles. I ignore her and start at her shoulders and start to massage her. Everyone knows that her back has been killing her because her mother asked her about it the other day and she lied and said it wasn't hurting at all. Her entire back is covered in knots. Annie smacks Finnick's arm.

"Why don't you do that to me?" she points at me. Finnick and her start to whisper. Katniss lets out a sigh and shuts her eyes. I roll out every knot.

Nobody bothers to protest or act uncomfortable when Kat takes her shirt off and lays back down. She hates clothing. She hates wearing it, and if she has a chance to wear as little as possible, she jumps right on it. I finish her shoulders and move downward, massaging every knot out to nothing and rubbing away the pain. She reaches behind her and guides my hand to her lower back, and I'm shocked at how bad it is. It's completely lined in knots. She drifts off to sleep but I don't stop. I roll our ever single knot and then continue to rub and check her knots are gone. I'm tired myself, so when I'm completely done with her back, I push Lucky off the couch. "Hey." Katniss whines.

"Shhh," I run my fingers through her hair.

"I was using her!" she mumbles. I lay down next to her and let her use my arm instead. She pulls her shirt back on and kisses my cheek. After shifting multiple times and trying to get comfortable, she sits up and pulls me up with her.

"What?" I ask.

"Take your shirt off." She whispers.

"Why?"

"Please?" she begs. I pull my shirt off and she takes off her own and pulls mine on and then takes off her bra with the shirt still on. Then she pulls me so I'm laying down again, rests her head on my arm and drifts off to sleep. I smile and kiss her forehead, drifting off with her soon after.

…..a…..

I feel a weight on my body that is warm and comforting when I wake up. All I see when I lift my eyelids is darkness, but is smells like coconuts. I brush Kat's hair out of my eyes. She somehow managed to get right on top of me, literally. Our legs are entwined and so are our hands.

I look at my family in confusion. Rye chuckles. "You guys both did that in your sleep. We even asked you how that was comfortable and you didn't answer. You even locked hands."

"Really?" I mumble, looking at Kat.

"Yes. She even told you in her sleep to roll over and you listened." Rye answers. I laugh. The movie is over and it's getting dark and I know I really need to make dinner. Katniss sits up suddenly and looks around the room, confused.

"I want pizza." She whispers. She looks down at her clothes and her shirt and bra on the floor, and the position we're in. "Who took my shirt off?"

"You did." I tell her.

"Why don't ihave a bra on?" she asks.

"You took it off."

She stares at me. "In front of everyone?"

"Yes." Her eyes widen. "But you didn't let anyone see."

"Oh…" she fiddles with my hand. "What happened to Lucky?"

"I pushed her off."

"Why?"

"Because I did. You seemed much happier with me anyways." I say.

"My back doesn't hurt." She notices. I laugh.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Making Lucky come on the couch with me."

"Well Peeta massaged your back." Rye says.

"He did?" she looks at me.

"Yes." He says.

"Another reason I don't deserve you." She mutters.

"Oh cut that out. You know I hate when you do that."

"Well it's true!" she says.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is." She argues. I sigh and stop arguing. She stands up and stretches and then takes off her shorts and walks off upstairs with her clothes, muttering under her breath about how she hates clothing.

She comes back downstairs in a t-shirt and jeans, on the phone with her sunglasses on her head, her hair in a braid, her wallet and keys in her hand.

I knew she wasn't going to listen about the wedding thing. "I'll be back." She announces. "No Jen, the twelfth, not the thirteenth." She says. She disappears and I hear her say "Yes." Before the door shuts behind her.

"She doesn't listen." Haymitch says.

"Of course she doesn't. This is Katniss we're talking about." I sigh.

"I wish she would listen." Finn frowns.

"Don't we all." I sigh.

…a…

KATNISS'S POV

Johanna and Prim went to get Peeta's ring and I'm sitting at the table with Effie, Mom, my bridesmaids and Mrs. Mellark getting invitations ready to mail out.

"And you have the hair appointment tomorrow to see if this is going to work out, right?" Effie asks.

"Yes, at noon, and then we have to start writing the thank you cards for the wedding shower stuff." I say. The wedding shower was in March. "Then we need to send out the rehearsal invitations."

"And that is going to be informal, yes?" Mrs. Mellark asks.

"I don't see the point in dresses up for it." I shrug.

"And are you doing dance lessons?" Mom asks.

"No." Peeta, who is walking past to the kitchen says. "We're not going to do that."

"I guess that's the answer then." I say.

"You need to start practicing your vows." Mom says. I brush her off.

"I'm winging it." I say. Peeta, who is now in the kitchen just laughs.

"Katniss that's a bad idea." Mom says.

"If it comes down to it I'll tell him I love him." I shrug. Effie sighs.

"Katniss." She warns.

"Oh stop. I'll be fine." I laugh. Peeta sticks his head out from the kitchen and everyone else looks at me. "What?" I smile.

"Your smiling and laughing!" he looks ecstatic.

"Yeah, so?"

"You haven't done that in weeks!" He grabs my waist and spins me around. I scream, and he sets me down.

"Your trying to kill me!" I accuse, playfully punching his arm.

"I am not!" he laughs, rubbing his arm like it hurt, when in fact, it didn't.


	35. Chapter 35

It's the day before the wedding and we're at the wedding rehearsal. We're standing in the place that will be completely transformed to our wedding and the guy the is marrying us, who is hilarious named Marcus is here. Johanna is going to be forty five minutes late because she's stuck in traffic. We're going to the Mellark's house, which they're renting so they have a place to stay when they visit, for the dinner. Peeta and I aren't even allowed to touch each other because I'm technically not supposed to see him right now. I did put on a dress though, because it seemed necessary. It's a tank top dress that's all lace with a tan belt. I have on the locket because I never take it off. I have on wedges, too. Peeta isn't even here because I haven't seen him since last night. He's going to be late. I sigh loudly in frustration. I'm going to kiss him anyways. I don't give a shit how mad I make Effie.

"KITTY YOU'RE GOING TO BE MARRIED TOMORROW!" Finn screams from across the room as all the guys walk into the place. My hair is down and left normal so it's in waves.

"Really? I had no clue!" I call back to him. Effie doesn't snap when Peeta walks over to me.

"Did you forget already?" he asks playfully.

"Of course I didn't." I smile.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the wedding party starts to chant. I laugh and pull his lips to mine for a brief moment. It's only a second long. When we pull away, Effie comes up behind Peeta.

PEETA'S POV

"I allowed you a hello." She says. Then she grabs Kat's arm and pulls her away. We reach for each other like idiots until I'm forced to look away. We all sit around and I chat with the boys for a while, my eyes will occasionally flick to Kat who is chatting with her girls. The door bangs open and hits the wall. "Stupid fucking asshole people need to learn what a fucking gas petal fucking is those fucking motherfuckers!" Johanna shouts as she slams the door behind her.

Marcus who is marrying us stands up. "Are we ready to get started?" he asks. I look around to make sure we have the wedding party here.

Wait, where's Kat? How'd she just disappear in a few minutes?

"Where's the bride?" Marcus asks.

"She said she would be back and she left." Prim says.

"I'll go find her." Johanna walks out and Prim follows.

JOHANNA'S POV

"What really happened was she started crying and said she would be back and left. I was going to go after her when Marcus asked if we were ready." Prim informs me.

"Crying?" I repeat. She shrugs.

"Yes."

I walk into the girls bathroom. She's pacing around, crying, gasping.

"What?" Prim asks.

"I'm scared shitless." She laughs at herself.

"Why?"

"What if he says no?"

"Why the hell would Peeta say no?" I ask.

"He said no to Delly!" she chokes. The rest of the bridesmaids walk into the bathroom. Prim explains what's going on as Katniss gets three shades lighter and looks like she's going to be sick.

Which is exactly what she does. She gets sick. She vomits into the toilet, flushes and washes out her mouth and then resumes crying.

"Katniss Peeta said no to Delly because she's an asshole and he loves you!" Jen says.

"What if he changes his mind? What if he doesn't want me? What if I trip? What if I pass out? What if Delly shows up and protests? Or Cato?"

Her mother and my mother walk into the bathroom.

"Oh, she's going what I did, Effie." Aunt Lillian says.

"He's going to leave."

"He is not!" Alexis says. "Rye goes on and on and on about how much Peeta loves you all the damn time! Peeta isn't going to leave you!"

PEETA'S POV

It's been a long time since they left. I know that something up with Katniss and I want to go investigate.

"She's probably just having wedding symptoms." Dad says, patting my shoulder.

"What's that?" I ask.

"Thinking you're leaving her. Thinking you're going to say no. thinking of falling or someone protesting."

My concern rises through the roof. "What?" I ask.

"Girls do that." Dad says.

"Should I go check on her?" I ask.

"Nah, she'll be fine."

KATNISS'S POV

"Deep breaths." Mom rubs my back. "Peeta loves you. He isn't going to leave you. He loves you. He's going to say yes."

It's probably been an hour that I've been crying. I take deep breaths that come uneven for probably a half hour until I feel good enough to go out and face everyone. I was my face and stare at the water as it runs in swirls down the drain. I dry my face off with a paper towel. I still look like I've been crying by my eyes. Peeta will be able to tell right away. "He's gonna know." I say.

"He probably already knows." Johanna says.

"That's so comforting." I say sarcastically.

"Whatever, we're way off schedule. Let's go." We walk in a line. Prim and Jo go in first, and then Annie and Alexis, and Jen and Christina and then Rebecca and Effie and then me and my mother. When I walk in, everyone breaks into cheers.

Dammit. They all know. I feel my cheeks heat up as I drop my eyes to the floor and begin to fiddle with a piece of hair. I hear Effie say something I don't quite catch as tears of embarrassment well in my eyes. Warm familiar hands land on my cheeks and tilt my head up to meet his blue eyes. He searches my eyes for a long time and then takes my hand and pulls me out the door.

He keeps pulling me somewhere, and then opens the men's bathrooms. I stop walking, shaking my head, but he pulls harder, still gentle, right into the men's bathroom. I look around.

He checks under the stalls and then turns to face me.

"You know I love you," he begins. I hug myself and shiver because I'm in a tank top dress that goes a little bit above my knees and it is snowing outside and I don't have a coat. "And the only way we won't get married is if you protest. I'm not going to say no. Nobody can protest because it's not serious and we're not married. I love you Katniss. I'm not leaving you." He is a few feet away from me.

"I shouldn't be in here." I make a break for the door and he grabs my hand.

"Nobody's in here." He says. "I'm not leaving you. You have to understand that."

"I'm afraid because...you didn't stay with Delly and I really can't live without you." My chin starts to tremble.

"Oh." His eyes go wide. "You know I don't like Delly. I love you with all my heart and more." He sweeps his thumbs underneath my eyes to wipe my tears away. "I'm marry you tomorrow. I'm in love with you and I'm going to marry you. I want this." He cups my ass to pull me against him. I bury my head in his chest.

"Promise?" I whisper.

"I promise." He pulls me closer. "You know what I miss?"

"Hmm?" This is as alone we've been in a while.

"Making love to you."

A shiver runs through me. "Tomorrow." I say. "We will tomorrow."

"Tomorrow we'll be married." He whispers. "Married Katniss. Husband and wife. Katniss Mellark." He grins. I smile and he smiles wider. "I'm gonna miss you tonight." He whispers.

"I'm gonna miss you, too." The wedding isn't until six tomorrow night, and the reception is at nighttime.

"Your okay?" He asks.

"Yes." I smile.

"Good. Let's go." He links our fingers and pulls me back to the destination of the ceremony.

...3...

I'm chatting with an old friend from high school named Madge Undersee. We're at the rehearsal dinner.

"So are you nervous?" She asks.

"Yes but it's not too bad." I shrug. We are dinner already and I'm doing my best to go around to everyone.

"Can I ask you something?" She asks.

"Sure." I smile.

"We're you really raped?"

"Um." I sigh. "Yes."

"Oh, I am so sorry." She says.

"It's alright." I shrug.

Peeta who is brushing past me plants a big kiss on my cheek and keeps walking like he was never there. I laugh. Jen is standing in the corner making out with her fiancé.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Mrs. Mellark calls. Everyone drifts into silence. "I groan loudly. Johanna snickers from across the room. "She found some things I'm not going to talk about but I will say she will never need them again." People look slightly confused. Mrs. Mellark makes eye contact with me. "It was red."

Oh shit. She found that stupid vibrator that she got me for my eighteenth birthday.

I can feel my face and neck heat up and she laughs.

"It starts with a V!" Johanna shouts.

Everyone seems confused, but then Peeta bursts out laughing, burying his face in his hands, hysterical.

"Anyways," Mrs. Mellark changes the subject. "She found some old clothes. Some papers. She found an old blue folder that is falling apart." Johanna appears beside Mrs. Mellark and hands her my song folder. "Now I'm pretty sure everyone is aware that Katniss has an incredible voice."

Everyone cheers and I smile.

"Well we have her song folder." She pats the cover. "She has this very carefully labeled. We flipped to the most interesting tab which is labeled 'with Peeta'.

Everyone lets out whistles and Peeta locks eyes with me and wiggles his eyebrows playfully at me. I snicker and look at the floor. "We figured out it is set from the day she met him and on. We went to a song from the day they met."

I think long and hard before she says the name of the song to figure it out. "How about you come up here and prove your voice to us?" She asks.

"Um..." I bite my lip. "I'm good..."

"Oh come on!" Peeta protests. He walks over to me. "Please?" His blue eyes shine with hope and love.

Damn him. I sigh. "Fine." I walk over to her and take the paper of the song she expects me to sing. "Oh no, I'm not singing this." I hand it back to her.

"Then I will." Peeta walks beside me and takes the paper from his mother. He reads over the lyrics and grins. "Can you be-" I put my hand over his mouth.

"Alright." I laugh. "I'll sing the song."

He removes my hand from his mouth. "Are you wearing lotion?" He asks.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Your hands smell incredible." He says. People chuckle. I can tell he's had something to drink and he's slightly tipsy. I laugh.

"Okay." I say.

"No really." He smells my hand. "Smell it." He shoves my hand in my face.

"It smells like nothing."

He licks my hand and I wrinkle my noise and wipe his slober in his hair. "It tastes good too-"

"Hey Peeta you want another beer?" Rye calls.

"Alright." He hands me the paper and walks away.

"He's tipsy." I laugh.

"He's a hilarious drunk." Graham says.

"I've never seen him drunk. Not really." I say.

"Are you going to sing or not?" Mrs. Mellark asks. "We have a piano." She points to the corner.

"Alright, I'll sing." I walk over to the piano. Peeta plops down next to me.

"Hey baby you want some beer? We can swap spit. We do it all the time." He grins proudly and I laugh loudly.

"I'm good, thank you." I say.

"Okay." He smiles happily and takes another gulp. "I can give you some like a mom bird and the kid." He says. "I'll spit it into your mouth."

"I'm good."

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"I am absolutely positive."

"Okay. Kiss me." He says. I laugh again and kiss him. "No a real kiss." He says.

"I'm not making out with you right now." I say.

"Why not?" He demands.

"Yeah, why not?" Rye shouts.

"The best men and the maids if honor want to see a make out!" Johanna shouts.

"You can see that tomorrow."

"Why can't they see it now?" Peeta asks.

"Because." I sigh.

"Hey, do you want some beer?" He asks, holding his bottle out to me.

I sigh. "If I drink some beer will it make you happy?" I ask.

"Yes." He grins.

"Fine." I reach for the beer but he pulls away.

"Let's do it like birds." He says.

"That's disgusting." I say.

"Please? You eat other things from me."

Haymitch starts choking on his beer as he bursts out laugh. Everyone else does, too, and I smack his arm.

"Just do it Kitty."

"Yes Kat. He isn't going to give up until you do what he wants."

"Please?" Peeta begs.

"Do it!" Everyone starts chanting.

I throw my head back and sigh. "Fine!"

Peeta puts some beer in his mouth and pulls my lip to his. He spits all of the beer in his mouth into mine. Everyone starts cheering for me to swallow. I clamp my hand over my mouth. Peeta waits eagerly for me to swallow. I force it down and everyone starts cheering.

"Finish it!" Peeta hands the beer to me. "I'm gonna get a new one!" He gets up and runs away and comes back with a fresh beer.

"Sing the song, Sweetheart." Haymitch says.

I look at Peeta who is watching me. I start to play the song and he finishes the beer he gave to me and downs the reset of his before I even start to sing.

_I can't sleep tonight_

_Wide awake and so confused_

_Everything's in line_

_But I am bruised_

_I need a voice to echo_

_I need a light to take me home_

_I kinda need a hero_

_Is it you?_

_I never see the forest for the trees_

_I could really use your melody_

_Baby I'm a little blind_

_I think it's time for you to find me_

_Can you be my nightingale?_

_Sing to me_

_I know you're there_

_You could be my sanity_

_Bring me peace_

_Sing me to sleep_

_Say you'll be my nightingale_

_Somebody speak to me_

_Cause I'm feeling like hell_

_Need you to answer me_

_I'm overwhelmed_

_I need a voice to echo_

_I need a light to take me home_

_I need a star to follow_

_I don't know_

_I never see the forest for the trees_

_I could really use your melody_

_Baby I'm a little blind_

_I think it's time for you to find me_

_Can you be my nightingale?_

_Sing to me_

_I know you're there_

_You could be my sanity_

_Bring me peace_

_Sing me to sleep_

_Say you'll be my nightingale_

_I don't know what I'd do without you_

_Your words are like a whisper cutting through_

_As long as you are with me here tonight_

_I'm good_

_Can you be my nightingale?_

_Feels so close_

_I know you're there_

_Oh, nightingale_

_Sing to me_

_I know you're there_

_'Cause baby you're my sanity_

_You bring me peace_

_Sing me to sleep_

_Say you'll be my nightingale_

_Oh_

_Mm, mm_

_Mm_

Peeta gets both of us two more beers.

"Whoever finish first is in charge the next time we have sex." He says.

I narrow my eyes at him. There's a camera running. I stick my hand out.

"Deal." I smirk.

Rye counts down and when he says go I start to chug. He's finished both of his beers at the exact same time I finish mine. "It's a tie!" Rye says.

"Let's break it with a staring contest. Whoever looks away first loses." Peeta says.

"Rest, set, go."

Our eyes lock.

"Blinking doesn't count right?" I ask, not looking away from Peeta.

"Right." He says.

We can stare into each other's eyes for eternity.

After nearly twenty minutes, I whisper, "my boobs got bigger." And his eyes move down to my chest and I burst out laughing.

"I win!" I giggle, feeling the alcohol sink into my system.

"Cheater!" He says.

"I win! You looked away first!" I say.

"You lied! Your boobs didn't get bigger!" He says.

"Yes they did!" I insist.

"No!" He puts his hands over my breasts. "They didn't not!"

"Yes they did!"

He drops it and his entire face lights up. "Lets go get naked!" He says.

"Okay!" He takes my hand and starts to pull me to the bathroom, but Effie grabs my hand and pulls me back. Everyone is cracking up. "It's time to get you home."


	36. Chapter 36

Today is going to be hectic. I have a headache when I wake up and I throw up immediately, and I know I'm hung over. "Dammit Katniss!" Effie is very angry with me. "Your hung over!" She thrusts some Advil and a ton if water at me and instructs me to take it all. Then she gives me spinach and scrambled eggs and vitamins and makes me drink water nonstop.

She gives me sunglasses and doesn't take no for an answer as she drags me out the door and to the nail place with the girls. I get French tip gels.

We go out to lunch the I feel much better, and the whole time I'm thinking about tonight.

I'm nervous. My heart is pounding the whole time. I look at the clock to see it's exactly one in the afternoon.

"Five hours." I announce. Everyone starts cheering.

"Five hours left to back out." Prim jokes. I roll my eyes.

"Very funny." I say.

We all joke about shit as we go to our Johanna's house. There's an order we are to get out hair done. I'm going last. The hairdresser is here when we pull up.

Mom shows up with my family that needs to be here. Audrey and Maddie are flower girls. The hairdresser, Harpor, starts doing hair.

Things go completely frantic. Flowers are being delivered and everyone is trying to figure out who's is who's, my car is being taken, the photographer is late, I forgot Peeta's ring at home, which is where that the guys are.

"Dammit! Mom I need to go get Peeta's ring."

"Where is it?" She asks.

"My house."

"That's where the guys are." She says. She starts hollering for Effie, who sends my cousin Ethan who vanishes.

I'm freaking out and answering questions and helping the best I can, and then, I am going last to get my hair done, my name is being called. I walk towards the sound and see the empty seat.

"It's your turn, bride." Harpor smiles. I sit down and she takes my hair out if it's braid and sighs. "Your hair is just beautiful."

"Oh, thank you."

We begin to chat, and she completely calms me down as she brushes my hair and grabs the curling iron. "You know, I almost got married once." she says.

"Almost?" I ask.

"Yes. His name are George. It was our wedding day. We paid so much money for everything. It was thousands and everything was perfect. I was dressed and ready and everything. We pulled up at the church and everyone way crying." She sighs and I hear her voice breaking as she continues curling my hair. "He'd gotten into a car accident. He died."

Oh my god what if that happens to Peeta.

"Of course, that won't happen to you." She laughs. "So...are you nervous?"

"A little bit."

"Are you ready to become a married woman?"

"Yes." I laugh. "I'm more than ready to be able to call Peeta my husband.

"We're running out of time!" Effie starts to shriek. "We're off schedule!"

The girls, all ready in Thor soft yellow dresses, their hair done in beautiful ways; their makeup hardly there, come rushing in with makeup supplies. "Shut your eyes." Johanna orders. I do as I'm told. They argue over colors and Prim insists that dark will make my eyes pop and Johanna agrees to they use dark eyeshadow and eyeliner. They pluck my eyebrows and make sure I've shaved my pits and legs.

"Your shaved you crotch, right?" Jen asks.

"Yes."

"Do you want lipgloss or any of that?" Annie asks softly.

"No." I say. Effie orders the guys out of the house and tells them to get to the reception, leaving all the females in the family.

"I'm taking your clothes off. You don't care if we see your tits do you?" Alexis asks.

"No." I say. They undress me as Harpor finishes my hair.

"Okay." Johanna says. "We need to get the dress on you. Open your eyes." I open my eyes at the same time that Harpor finishes my hair. I stand in nothing but a pair of underwear. Dad and Cinna, Peeta's uncle, is the only male here because he designed my dress and he needs to help me put it on, but he isn't in the room right now. He's like my stylist but he didn't do my hair and makeup. They make me step into the dress and then Cinna walks into the room and stops short to stare at me, and then he walks over to me and zips me up. Mom is tearing up, as is everyone else.

"You look beautiful." Mom whispers. She dabs at her eyes with a tissue.

"Garter." Cinna hands it to me.

"Let me put it on." Johanna says. She grabs my left leg and pushes it all the way up to where my leg ends. "There." She snickers and stands up. "Peeta's gonna love taking that off of you." Prim comes in with my heels and puts on the left on and the right.

"The limos here!" Dad shouts from the living room. He walks in with everyone's flowers and hands them out. Then he turns to me.

Mom is crying, and everyone else has tears in their eyes.

After a couple of moments of this, I look at the time. It's six.

"It's six!" I say. Effie shrieks and then we're running to the limo.

"Kick walk!" Cinna shouts. "Kick and walk! Kick walk!" He says. "Pick the dress up!" I do as he says. We clamber into the limo. Effie gets in the phone.

"It's a twenty minute drive and we're just leaving. Just know we'll be late. Tell Marcus and nobody else." She hangs up.

"Well." Rebecca looks around. "At least we're fashionably late."

We chat for a while and I know they're trying to distract me, but it's not working. I tap my knee nervously, biting my lip and staring at the engagement ring on my right hand instead if my left.

"Do we have Oeeta's ring?" I ask frantically all the sudden.

"I gots it!" Maddie tosses the box to me.

"Thanks Maddie." I say. Prim is to being the box to me so I can put it on Peeta's finger, so I hand it to her. Mom takes the box and hands the ring to Prim. "Don't lose it Primrose."

"I won't Mama." Prim says. The Parkin lot is full. Effie gets on the phone. I can hear voices outside as we file out the car. Nobody can see us that us inside, but people driving by scream "CONGRATULATIONS!" from their car and they honk the horn. Effie and Mom go inside. Dad takes my arm. I hear Effie talking and then silence. Then Mom sticks her head out the door. Cinna whispers, "kick walk!" To me, as he rushes inside to sit with Portia.

"Come on." Mom whispers.

"Where's Peeta?" I whisper back.

"He can't see you." she says.

"Are you sure?"

She sighs and says, loud enough for people to hear, "stop worrying."

Some people chuckle. Johanna darts to the circle part and hides against the side, and then Annie, and Prim does, and Annie, Lauren, Rebecca, Jen, Maddie and Audrey, Christina and then dad pulls me. It's a long aisle and I forgot Peeta can't see me from where he is.

Everyone takes their seats and the girls file a line.

"Don't let me fall." I whisper desperately to dad.

"I won't." He says. "Where's your vail?"

Oh my shit.

All the girls look at me.

I need Effie. "Psst!" I hiss. People that can see me turn around. "Someone get Effie!"

People start whispering. It takes a few minutes for the message to reach her, and then she comes down the aisle. "What?" She asks.

"The vail." I say.

Her eyes widen. "Your mom has it. Lillian!"

Mom comes running with the vail. "Sorry sweetie." She puts it in my hair. Effie and Mom return to their seats.

I hear Marcus ask if we're ready. I look down at my phone in my hand and shove it in Dad's pocket.

The music starts and Audrey and Maddie walk side by side, dropping flowers. My heart is pounding in my ears. Then Annie goes. Then Christina, then Rebecca, then Lauren, then Annie, then Jen, and then lastly, Prim and Johanna.

They meet the guys halfway up the aisle, before Peeta can see them.

Then, the music changes to the music for me to walk down the aisle.

"Don't let me fall." I whisper. Dad cups my cheeks.

"I won't. Remember to kick walk." He says. I clutch the flowers with a death grip in my left hand and his arm in my right as he gives me a good pull and brings me into sight of the guests. I almost trip and he whispers, "kick walk." Again, and I focus on kicking and walking. He slows me down slightly, and I keep my eyes on the floor. I can hear sniffles. Dad tightens his grip on my arm, and something tells me to look up, and when I do, I meet his blue eyes. He's nervous. He's really, really nervous. It's a normal suit. He looks so fucking sexy. His hair is left normal, and I know that took a lot of argument. I didn't realize I was walking too fast until Dad tightens his grip and pulls me to a slower pace.

Whys it matter? I just want to get to Peeta. Prim has Peeta's ring tightly in his hand. Rye whispers something to Graham I don't quite catch, but I see Peeta's mouth twitch and the rest of the groomsmen grin.

Finally, Dad places my hand in Peeta's, moves the vail and kisses my cheek. He points to Peeta and hisses. "Hurt her and I leave you to the coyotes after I chisel away your ability to have children." Peeta just smiles.

"You don't have to worry about that." He says, not breaking eye contact with me. Dad takes his seat and Johanna moves my train so it's not all twisted and gets back in her position. Peeta squeezes my hand and I squeeze it back.

The music cuts off and I feel an immense amount of relief that I didn't fall on my face and die.

I actually laugh a little bit and look down for a moment and then back at Peeta. He raises his eyebrows at me and I just shake my head.

Marcus chuckles.

"We have come together in the presence of God, and these witnesses to join you Katniss, and you, Peeta, in holy matrimony. This is a special time of celebration that the two of you will long remember, and because of this, we are grateful to share in your joy. Marriage is a serious commitment meant for your welfare and enjoyment. Marriage also offers each of you the opportunity to grow together as a couple and as unique individuals. In each of you, God has planted an idea of how you would like to be treated in a loving marriage. This idea is a seed of desire that requires each of you to give to the other in constant and consistent positive behavior that reflects your desired results. Only then can these seeds, these ideas, come to fruition, manifest in reality, and deliver abundantly. If these solemn vows which you are about to make are kept faithfully, your marriage will surely prosper in all the goodness you both desire. Please face each other and join hands."

We both stare at Marcus because we're already doing that, and he just grins and continues on. "Peeta, do you have something you would like to say to Katniss before we begin?"

Peeta looks from me to Marcus for a second it two before mouthing "is this the vows?" To me.

I bite my lip and shrug. Marcus smirks and nods his head at Peeta.

"Katniss, I've know you for three years, and I known of you for five. Every single second I've spent with you, thinking about you, or anything that has to do with you has been wonderful. Times got tough and even then, it's still wonderful. Your still wonderful. There are so many ways to show someone how much you love them, but there isn't enough ways for me to show you. I love everything about you. The way you smile, the way your eyes glint when your excited, the way you make me take everything away from you when your angry. I think it's absolute adorable when your and I have to admit that I sometimes get you mad on purpose because it's just so cute." He says. I'm crying and I didn't even know it. "And the way you just realized your crying when you've been crying since our skin touched." He smiles. "I love you."

I smile.

"Katniss, do you have something you would like to say to Peeta before we begin?" Marcus continues.

I'm silent.

Fuck.

"Um..." I bite my lip.

I should have listened to the family.

"Um..." Peeta smiles and begins to rub small circles in the back of my hand. "I love you and um..." The words start to flow. "I didn't prepare anything...so I'm probably gonna stutter a lot." I take a deep breath. "But the past three years of my life have been..." I search for the right word. "Better than I ever thought my life would get. Even though stuff god hard and I got mad a lot and I went from one person to another in a day, you still stuck by my and dealt with my moods. You still gave me chocolate when I was on my period, you still cook for me so I don't burn the house down. You still treat me like royalty. I love you and every second of my life was worth it, because all of it led to you, and I will never try and change anything. I love you..." I stop talking because if I go further it will turn to a disaster. Mom and Mrs. Mellark and a lot of other people are silently sobbing into their tissues.

"Katniss Joy, do you take this man, Peeta Ryan, to be your lawfully wedded husband, and do you promise to love, honor and respect him, and comfort him, and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him for so long as you both shall live and longer?"

"Yes...I mean...I do..."

Damn my stupid mind.

"Peeta Ryan, do you take this woman, Katniss Joy, to be your lawfully wedded wife, and do you promise to love, honor, respect her, and comfort her, and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her for so long as you both shall live and longer?"

"I do." Peeta says.

"Your wedding rings are symbolic of your commitment to each other and your endless love for each other." Marcus says. "Katniss, please place your ring on Peeta's third finger of his left hand and repeat these words:"

Prim hands me Peeta's ring and I take his left hand. Mine is shaking so bad that Peeta gently grabs my wrist to steady me as I slide the ring on his ring finger. "I Katniss Joy, give to you, Peeta Ryan this ring as a commitment to love, honor and respect you with all that I am and always."

"I Katniss Joy, give to you, Peeta Ryan this ring as a commitment to love, honor and respect you with all that I am and always." I repeat.

"Peeta, please place your ring on Katniss's third finger of her left hand and repeat these words:" Graham hands Peeta my ring and he grabs my right hand.

"Baby, that's the wrong hand." I whisper. His cheeks get slightly pink as he drops my right hand and slides the ring onto my left hand. Then without a moments hesitation he takes the engagement ring off and slides it on with the wedding band.

"I Peeta, give to you, Katniss this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you with all that I am always."

"I Peeta, give to you, Katniss this ring as a symbol of my commitment to love, honor, and respect you with all that I am always." Peeta whispers. He's tearing up.

"I pray with you now that Our Almighty and All-Loving God blesses your union as a loving sanctuary and that It guides you with Its perfect plan on your journey ahead so that you may fulfill your purposes on this Earth and thereafter. I further pray with you that you always be considerate of each other, and remember to always turn to Our Creator in times of need, and to rejoice in It in celebrations of cherished moments and gratitude. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Amen." I'm getting impatient. His lips look so soft and tempting and I can't wait for the next two seconds to pass so we can share our first kiss as husband and wife. "I now with divine blessings and the authority vested in me by the Sate of New York, New York City Parish, joyfully pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss your bride."

Peeta pulls me flush against him as presses his lips firmly to mine, his arms winding around my waist. People are screaming. I throw my arms around his neck, flowers an all. Our eyelids flutter closed.

Married! We're married!

My lips tilt upwards into a full blown smile and I pull away from him. He's got a big goofy grin on his face. People are screaming and crying and cheering and throwing stuff.

Rye and Graham are punching the shit out of each other and screaming about how they have a little sister. They tackle Peeta and I in a group hug. "A new sibling to piss off!" Rye cheers. I worm out of the hug and they release us. Everyone attacks us in hugs and kisses. Johanna is shouting nonsense about how her cousin is married. We're all excited and just happy.

Everyone but the wedding party leaves, and Effie and my mother and my mother-in-law and my father-in-law.

"We need to take pictures!" Effie says.

After doing photo shoots in skimpy outfits I've learnt to hate photos, but this time, I don't mind them. I turn towards Peeta and hold my hands up. He looks at me in confusion and then holds his hands up against mine. "I have a surprise for you later." He says. We both can't stop smiling.

"You do?" I ask, arching my eyebrows.

"And another one tomorrow. Actually I have two for you tomorrow." He slides his fingers down and links them with mine.

"Really?" I smile.

"Yes. But..."

"Ah, there's a catch." I smirk. "I should've known." They're taking photos of us but we don't pay attention.

"There isn't a catch." He laughs and pulls our arms straight out at our sides, pulling me up against his chest. I look at up him and he looks down at me. We stare into each other's eyes for a while, and then he whispers, "I'm just not giving you any hints." He leans down and slowly presses his lips to mine. Even though it was just a little kiss, I shut my eyes. My eyes close for every kiss uncontrollably.

"Okay! We need to take pictures!" Effie says.

We take a ton of serious pictures with just the two of us and a ton of serious pictures with all of the wedding party, with the parents, with just my family, with just Peeta's family. Then Effie decides we need more wedding party photos. In a time before pictures Johanna whispers to me "let's do something bat shit crazy."

I nod my head, telling her I'm in.

"Do something stupid." She hisses.

Effie's gonna get pissed but who cares.

All of the wedding party hears her.

"Ready. Three, two, one."

Peeta dunks me and kisses me and everyone else points at us on their knees like they're saying "all hail".

We all start doing crazy photos.

"Okay, let's do a sibling photo!" Rye says.

"Yes, we can do that." Effie says. Rye and Graham walks over to me with Peeta. Rye picks me up and Graham grabs my legs. Peeta stands awkwardly in between the two of us.

"Ready. One, two, three." I grab Peeta's tie and pull his lips to mine.

"Okay, let's go."

Effie thinks that we need to have the maids of honors and best men in the limo with us but Mrs. Mellark, Mr. Mellark, my parents and everyone else argues that it's a forty five minute drive and we should get it to ourselves.

We head outside, and I shiver violently. "Oh, you don't have a jacket." Peeta's voice is laced in concern.

"I-I'm fine." I say through chartered teeth. He takes off his suit jacket and puts it over my shoulders.

"Protests will be ignored." He lets everyone lead us to the limo. People driving by scream and honk horns. Peeta chuckles. We we're walking into the limo Johanna shoves her hand down my dress and leaves something cold on my boob. I jump back, startled.

"What's wrong?" Peeta asks.

Johanna doesn't say anything. She just walks away.

"Nothing." I frown.

"Well..." He lets out a breath. "Ladies first." I clamber into the limo and Peeta slides in after me.

When we start moving, Peeta turns to me. "What happened? I know it wasn't nothing."

"Unzip me." I say.

"Katniss." He warns.

"We're not going to do anything. Just unzip me please!" I laugh.

He hesitates before sliding the zipper down. "What are you doing?" He asks. I look to make sure the thing that allows the drive to look at us and closed and then I pull out the dress, completely exposing myself.

"Dammit." He groans. "Stop that."

"Help me find something." I beg.

"Find what?" He asks.

"I don't know. Johanna shoved something down my dress. Help me find it." He looks at my chest and frowns. He grabs something from underneath my right breast. He doesn't let me see it, he just shoves it in hi pocket and zips me back up.

"What was it?" I ask.

"Nothing." He says.

"No baby, can I see it?" I ask. He sighs and dogs a condom out of his pocket. he places it in my hand. I open it up and unravel it.

I hold his hand up and put it up against his hand.

Then I start laughing hysterically. "It doesn't even fit!"

I only laugh harder when it face goes all red.

...9...

With music blaring, after all of the wedding party walks in, the DJ shows up late and starts apologizing like crazy.

He gets right to the chase. I'm chatting with Johanna and Jen. "So did you like my gift?" Jo asks.

"It was too small." I say. Jen catches on. The DJ is saying something. Johanna and Jen and I are shaking with silent laughter.

"How does it fucking fit inside of you?" Jo laughs harder. "No wonder you married him."

A soft hand lands on my shoulder and slides down my arm to my hand. I spin around and come face to face with Peeta.

He knows exactly what we're talking about but he doesn't comment. "Come on." He says. I frown.

"To where?"

"First dance. Didn't you hear him?" He laughs.

"No." I admit.

"You still owe us a make out!" Peeta pulls me to the middle of the dance floor.

"What is she talking about?" He asks.

I start laughing. "It's a long story." I say. The music starts. I didn't choose the song, Peeta did. It's When You Look Me in the Eyes by the Jonas Brothers.

"Well." He knows I can't dance for shit so he just places my hands in the right places and starts moving me around. "We have eternity." He smiles.

"Well you were drunk last night." I remind him. He laughs.

"The last thing I remember was to celebrate my last night of freedom and forcing me to down four beers before I could eat."

"Yeah you have like seven last night. You kept licking me and you spit beer into my mouth." His eyes widen. "And you said you were feeding me like birds."

"Oh gosh." He pulls me closer. "Please tell me your joking."

I smile. "I'm not. Oh and then you gave me out beer after telling me that we swap spit all the time. I had told you I didn't want you to feed my like a bird but you said why not. You said that I've eaten other things from you."

He bites his lip. "Well you have." He laughs and spins me and then pulls me flush back against his chest.

"But you have me your beer while I sang a song. Then you got another beer and drank mine and yours and got both of us two more."

His eyes widen. "I got you drunk?"

"Yes. I actually woke up with a hangover."

He laughs. "Enough of last night." He spins me and pulls me against him. "Let's talk about the future, like tonight for example."

I raise my eyebrows. He leans down so his lips are next to my ear. "I'm going to make you scream so loud you lose your voice." He spins me again and pulls me back against his chest. My eyes are wide and I'm fighting not I react.

"Is that a threat?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Oh no baby." He spins me around three times and then dunks me and spins me four more times before pulling my flush against him. "That's a promise."

And then he passes me off to my father like he did not just say something sexual.

...8...

Damn Peeta Ryan Mellark. We've eating dinner and everyone is dancing and screaming and laughing. I, on the other hand, have very dirty thoughts taking over my mind, and I'm staring at the white skirt of my dress in concentration.

It's like I can feel his fingers touching me in places that only he is allowed to touch. His hands...

I grit my teeth.

He sqwats down in front of me. "Whats wrong?" He tilts my eyes up to reach his. His finger leaves a pleasuring burn and I shut my eyes and bit my lip, and then force them open and look at him. His inspects me for a long time. Then he says, "you have to be patient." He says.

"It's not working." I grit my teeth. He and only he knows how I am when I want him, and this is right now. He sees the look and knows right away.

"Well think of something else." His hands run up and down my arms.

"Peeta." I whimper. "Please don't torture me."

He drops his hands to his thighs. "Sorry." He stands up. I stand up, too.

"We can't go to the bathroom?" I just hardly whisper. "We're married. I should be allowed to fuck you blind when I want to." I chew on my lip.

His eyes widen and he sighs.

"No. We're waiting."

"But-"

He presses his finger to my lips. "Just trust me and wait, baby." He kisses me and pulls away.

Johanna shrieks suddenly. "YOU PROMISED A MAKEOUT!" She shouts. Everyone starts shouting with her.

Peeta eyes me for a long time. "Did this happen when it was drunk?"

"Yes." I say.

He stares at me for a long time, as if trying to decide if he should do it.

My hand closes lightly around his tie. "I'm not one to break promises." I pull on his tie and crash my lips against his. Everyone starts whistling and cheering and screaming as we start making out. He puts his hands on my hips as out eyes slide shut and pulls me flush against him. My fingers lock in his hair.

Rye shouts, "HER ASS!"

I'm in a shorter dress now with more room to breathe. Peeta slides his hand down to cup my ass. I pull away for breath and then go right back at it. Everton is hooting and screaming and clapping.

They go even crazier when Peeta picks me up so my legs are around his waist, holding me so my dress doesn't show off his property.

Finally, after a good five minutes, he pulls away. I've driven him crazy and my dress is covering his boner. He sets me down and doesn't let me move from in front of him.

"Let's thing about nasty things." He suggests.

...

I have a headache from dancing so much, my feet are cramping and I'm ready to get his damn clothes off. I stumble around like an idiot, and finally Peeta pulls me aside. "Are you happy right now?" He asks.

I actually burst out laughing. "What kind if question is that? I just got married, why would I not be happy? I'm happier than I've ever been." I don't tell him about the headache.

But obviously, he figures it out.

My mother and grandmother and a few other members of my family and Peeta's-our family, start banging their forks on their glasses, and everyone from both of our families runs to their seats and starts doing the same.

We're both smiling and looking around, trying to figure out what they're doing.

Soon enough, everyone is doing it.

I'm struggling to figure out what they want.

I'm blasted back in time all the sudden, to the time that Johanna got me alone when Peeta came to Kentucky with me for the first time.

"When you're getting married I'm going to beat the fuck out of the glasses until he kisses you."

"I'm not getting married." I say.

"Well you want to fuck him and you can't do what till your married." Then she walks out of the room.

I look at Peeta. "They want you to kiss me." I say.

He jumps on the chance, pulling me against him. They keep banging when he stop, so we start making out. It's only till we hit three minutes of making out that they stop.

"Ladies and gentlemen." The DJ says. "Let's remove that garter."

Everyone starts whistling and cheering and hooting as they pull a chair into the middle of the dance floor. It has slipped down to the middle of my thigh. It did it when I changed into another long dress and I didn't fix it.

Peeta sits me down in the chair and cameras come out.

"PEET, YOU BETTER WARM UP! DONT GET A BONER NOW!" Rye, Graham, Justice and Kegan shout in sync. I wiggle my eyebrows at Peeta because I know he's nervous. He said he was really nervous about it and I told him we didn't have to do it. He brushed me off.

And then I said "well it you mess up I'll do something worse to draw attention to myself." And he laughs and told me not to, and then I smacked his arm playfully and told him to shut up. People are whistling and hooting louder now. Cameras are all around the room on us.

He's really scared. Rye whistles and the four boys are the loudest, Jo and Finn joining them. Peeta kneels down in front of me and I uncross my legs. I'm nervous too, but I wouldn't tell him that because that'll just make his nerves worse. Everyone starts screaming when he lifts up my dress and slides under. I'm smirking to keep from flipping out. The rule is he keeps his hands behind his lap, and since the lights are dark and it's dark down there, he has to use his mouth. I clench my thighs and I'm thankful only he notices. He finds it, and uses his mouth to grab it and slide it down my leg. He uses his mouth to get it off my foot, too, and he stands up and pulls it out from between his teeth. Everyone is hooting and they're all excited. I stand up.

"Can we have all the unmarried men out onto the floor?" The DJ asks. Then he pauses. "Except for you, groom." Peeta plants a kiss on my cheek before I walk away. I botice my mother sitting at a table, looking flustered and upset. I walk over to her and sit down. "What's the problem?" I ask.

"Two things." She frowns. "One and most importantly, your married. My baby girl is married!" She runs her hands over my face and let's her hands fall to the table.

I smile. "And?" I press.

"And your father won't dance with anyone! You are the only person he's danced with aside from Prim!"

"I'll get him to dance you."

I look at Peeta as he throws the garter from behind and watch as Kegan catches it.

Mom grabs my bouquet of flowers and hands them to me. "Throw them." She says. "And you don't have to get him to dance."

"Well I'm going to." I say.

"Would all the non-married women come out to the dance floor!" The DJ shouts. He pauses. "And the bride."

When I'm brushing past Peeta, everyone not on the floor starts hitting their glass. I kiss him as I pass and they stop. Effie puts me at the place where I'm to stand. I turn around, wait till she says and throw the bouquet behind me.

Madge Undersee's cousin catches it. She's the same age as Kegan.

In a few seconds, I'm free again.

I don't bother begging my dad, I just go right to the DJ. Everyone's facing and singing.

"What do you need?" He asks. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Oh, thank you." I smile. "My dad won't dance. Do you have Dance With Me Tonight by Olly Murs?"

He nods. "I do."

"Can you play it?"

"Yes. Do you want me to say something?"

"Tell him flat out to get off his lazy ass and dance with my mom. And tell him I said that. I'll pay you extra." I laugh and he smiles.

"Will do, bride."

I walk away. Peeta is talking to his friends so I go over to Finn who is sitting with Rye, Graham, Justice and Kegan and the rest of the groomsmen.

"Shouldn't you be with your best bitches?" Finn teases, standing up and giving me a big hug, which I return.

Rye whistles loudly. He stands up and stumbles forwards a little and I know he's drunk. "JUST MARRIED AND SHES ALREADY CHEATING!"

Finn and I break away from the hug as everyone stares at us. I don't panic because Peeta knows.

The entire place has fallen silent in a matter of seconds. "Not even my brother for twenty four hours and I'm already annoyed with you."

"She's cheatttttin!"

Peeta walks over to the table. "How many beers have you had?"

"He finished the cart." Finn says.

Peeta eyes his beer for a moment. "Your going to be so hung over tomorrow." He says.

"And that-" Rye cuts off to chug half of his beer. "-is not important. And Kat-" he takes another big swig. "I'm going to taunt and torture you because you've been adopted as my baby sister and it's my job to puss you off."

"Well I'll return the favor." I say.

"And I'll help her." Peeta slings his arm around my shoulder and I lean against him. Alexis walks over to the table and takes Rye's beer, tossing it in the garbage.

"You're going to fall over drunk." She says.

"My beer!" He looks like he's going to cry. "I need my beer back!"

He starts to sob.

I stare at him. Peeta and Graham are cracking up. I feel bad now. Rye slips down to the floor and cries into his hand. "Your being rude Peeta Ryan." He coughs.

"Graham stop." He says. Graham looks at Peeta, and then at me, and then literally falls down laughing. Peeta's struggling not to laugh.

"M-my beer!" Rye sobs.

I can't help it. I burst out laughing and Peeta explodes, leaning onto the table, laughing so hard he's crying.

"I-it's not funny!" Rye sobs.

It takes a long time to calm us down.

...9...

"Ladies and gentlemen, we only have time for one more song." The DJ announces. It's a slow song. Peeta stands up, smoothing out his dress slacks. For the last half hour, we've been staring into each other's eyes like idiots. Nobody disturbed us. He extends a hand. "Dance with me?" He asks. I smile and take his hand and stand up. Dad and Mom are dancing, which is good. A lot of couples are dancing. Peeta positions me again and we get halfway through the song before I stand on his feet. I don't have shoes on. I hide my face in his neck. He moves the both of us.

"You better not be tired." He whispers in my ear. "The only way you will get tired is from tired muscles, which you will have after tonight."

"I'm not tired." I mumble.

The song ends. People started leaving a while ago.

Everyone forms a line, Peeta takes my hand, and we walk out.

It's really that simple.

They follow us. My poor car. It got painted. It says "just married" all over the place and "K+P" and someone (I think a girl my age with short hair that is my cousin and calls my brainless) drew a dick going into a hole.

"Have fun."

Peeta's grinning at me and I have a feeling he's not taking me home. "We're not going home, are we?" I ask.

He smiles wider. "No."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He whispers.


	37. Chapter 37

We're on the plane. "Where are we going?" I ask for the millionth time. He smiles.

"Kat." He turns to face me. "Katniss Joy Mellark." He smiles wider. "You are very impatient."

"Surprises make me squirm." I complain.

"This is a good surprise, I promise." He smiles. "And I bet I can make you squirm worse." He grins.

"Peeta!" I laugh. To distract ourselves from what we really want to be doing, we talk nonstop about random things.

"Did you have any idea about any of this?" He asks.

"No." I admit honestly. He hesitates.

"Would you tell me if you did?"

I smile. "Is that what you want?" He leans closer to me.

"Is that what you want me to want?"

"Is that what you want me to want you to want?" I smirk and he laughs and rolls his eyes.

"Yes, that is what I want you to want me to want."

"Well then yes, that is what I want."

...8...

When the plane lands, Peeta gets my jeep off of it and loads the luggage into it without letting me help. Then he shuts my door and gets in on his side and begins to drive.

After ten minutes, I blurt "are we almost there?" And he laughs softly.

"In about twenty more minutes."

I groan and he laughs again.

I watch as the city fades and trees appear before me.

"Are we still in the states?" I ask.

"We're by Texas." He says.

"New Mexico?" I guess.

"Nope."

"Oklahoma?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes." He laughs. The street lights fade away and become nonexistent. He keeps driving. We pass hills and meadows and farms and then finally, we pull into a small town that doesn't have a single streetlight. My leg starts to bounce in anticipation. "Please tell me we're staying here."

Peeta looks at me and laughs. "We'll see." He says. I think we stop in the town, but we don't, he keeps driving and very country houses start to show up. I lean back, tapping my finger on my knee. He turns into the driveway of a large house. I can't make out the details because it's too dark, even with the headlights of the car. I look at Peeta as he shuts off the car and turns to me.

"If we're in this driveway so you can tease me, I'm going to be really upset."

He rolls his eyes and starts up the jeep again. I'm opening my mouth to tell him it isn't funny, but he opens the sun thing and presses a button on a remote I didn't know was there. Then the garage door opens and he drives in, pressing the button again. The door shuts, he turns off the car, and then we sit in silence.

"Well let's go!" I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out. He gets out too, and starts to go to the back to get the luggage, but I grab his tie.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he says, grabbing my hand to pull me to a stop.

"What?" He sweeps me bridal style into his arm and goes out the side door outside into the snow. He walks around to the front door and digs a key out of his pocket. After struggling with the lock, he carries me over the threshold, and shuts the door with his foot. It's pitch black in here so I don't have a clue where we are. "You're an idiot." I snort. He sets me down. "But you're my idiot." I smile. I tangle my fingers in his hair and crash my lips against his.

…a…

He was holding back. That is the very first thing I realize when I wake up. My wedding hair is completely messed up and I slept with my makeup on. It's really early, but something woke me up and I can't figure it out. I roll over, trying to get closer to Peeta, but I just roll into coldness. I sit up and look around. The sun is only just now coming up. Ten times, and they all were a billion times , better than any time we've ever made love. I sigh and look around. Our luggage is up here, my phone is beside me on charge, too, but the house is dead silent and I know if he was here he'd stay up here unless he was doing something. I stand up and stretch. I'll find him after I shower. I walk into the bathroom and start the shower and step under the hot spray.

I go back to my old self, like I'm back at home in Kentucky. I leave my phone and don't bother checking it. I pull on pain panties and a simple bra, jeans, braid my hair, brush my teeth, pull on a long sleeve t-shirt and my hunting jacket and hunting boots and walk out of the room. "Peeta?" I ask. I don't receive a reply. The entire front wall of the house is glass and there is a fireplace in the middle. I'm still upstairs, with one bedroom to my left and one to my right, and another down the hall. I peek into the room to see that all of them except for one have a bathroom attached. There is a balcony on the second floor that overlooks the rest of the first floor except for the stuff beneath my feet. The living room shines with dawn. Off to my right downstairs is the kitchen, I am assuming, and to my left is a bathroom, but directly in front of my is the living room. I walk downstairs. The place under my feet has another bathroom, a dining room, a library and a guest room. I walk down one of the halls and come to the back door. It's glass, and I can see a barn an fencing out in the distance and trees and a ton of land.

Is all of this land ours for the time being?

My excitement rises through the roof as I call Peeta's name one more time. I still get no response, so I walk out the door. The snow is loud when I walk on it and it sounds like I'm walking on crushed ice. I walk carefully, and soon enough, the crushing under my feet lessens as I get used to my hunting walk. I walk into the barn and stop. Peeta is sitting on the stairs leading up to the supplies and the hay loft with his head in his hands. He clearly doesn't know I'm here. He's frustrated. I look at the stalls. There are a ton of horses. One of them neighs loudly. Their stalls are filthy, their water is empty and they must be starving.

Oh, I get it. Peeta's frustrated because he doesn't know what he's doing. I don't know why all of these horses have on saddles. That's not right. They shouldn't have them on. Back home, I didn't put saddles on the horses unless we were going to ride them. They don't like the saddles, they bother them. I open the first stall and the door creaks. Peeta looks up. "You're awake!" he walks over to me and plants a big kiss on my cheek.

"Yes. Hi." I kiss his lips. The horse neighs angrily when I walk into the stall.

"She's mean." He warns.

'I'm fine. I've been bucked off before and I've been kicked." I say.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"She's only angry because she's thirty and hungry and has on the saddle and the stalls are filthy."

"I thought they keep those on all the time?"

"Do you wear a helmet all the time?"

"No."

"Then there's your answer." I walk over to the horse. It neighs angrily. I turn on the tap for the water basin.

"There's horse food up there." He points up there. "And some eggs."

"Eggs?" I ask.

"Yes. But there aren't any chickens or anything."

"They're bad then." I say.

"Can we eat them?"

"No. They're rotten."

"Oh." He frowns. "What can I do?"

"Can you please get some food? Don't step on the eggs."

"Okay." He disappears. I pet the horse's mane. Peeta comes back with the horse food. It's heavy, and he carries it with ease. "How do I feed them?" he asks.

"Can you put three big scoops in every bowl?" I ask. He does as I say. When the horse that I am with starts eating, I clean it's hooves and take off the saddle. I clean the stall and leave the gate open. The horse runs free. Peeta gets the hang of what I've been doing and begins to work with the other horses.

"Kat?" he asks, setting down how shovel.

"Yes?" I brush loose strands of hair from my face and stand up straight, looking at him. He's a few stalls away from me, and the fences are tall, so I can't see him. I climb up on the slated fence and look at him. He looks at me and smiles brightly.

"Come here, I want to tell you something."

I look around. "Peeta, nobody's here." I laugh.

"Please?" he grins. I hop off of the fence and walk into his stall.

"Yes?" I ask. He kisses me crazily.

"Want to go inside?" he asks, his lips beginning to roam.

"In the shower." I mumble.

…a…

After probably five more times of amazing sex, we fall asleep. I wake up and I can smell something cooking downstairs. I stand up and stretch for the second time today. After searching blindly for something that doesn't make me naked but barely puts me in clothes, I settle on a pair of panties and a big baggy t-shirt of Peeta's. I don't brush my hair. When I appear downstairs, he does a double take. "So beautiful." He whispers, kissing my cheek. I yawn and he smiles and taps my nose. "You're adorable."

"I'm okay…" I shrug. He shakes his head.

"You're so much more than okay, Katniss Joy. You are indescribable."

"To you." I cross my arms.

"And the rest of the world." He says. It's only one in the afternoon. He hands me grilled cheese. We eat in silence, a comfortable silence, and then after having a tiny disagreement, he lets me help clean up.

"It's the only thing I'm good at." I mutter.

"You're good in bed." He says. The both of us start cracking up.

"I think you were holding back on me." I admit.

"Why would you think that?" he asks as I finish drying the last dish.

"Well…" I frown. "Your dick feels a million times better." He snorts.

"Maybe I was just a _little_ bit, but…it was worth it?" he raises his eyebrows in question.

"God, it was."

"Well I'm glad I can suffice your needs." He says.

"You do more than suffice them, Peeta Ryan Mellark."

"Well that's good, Katniss Joy Mellark."

He grins happily. I hook my fingers in the belt loops of his jeans.

"I'll never get tired of hearing my new name."

"I'll never get tired of your new name, Katniss Joy Mellark." He says.

"We need another round of love making."

**Okay, for those of you that have already read the other version of this story, you know that I only do one chapter of the honeymoon because of what is to come, so this is all of the honeymoon.**

**Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**-KatPeeta23**


	38. Chapter 38

"Oh come on." Peeta says. I sigh loudly. "Please tell me what's wrong?"

We're on the stupid plane back to stupid New York loud ass noisy bright ass stupid motherfucking City. I tell him just that.

"You don't want to leave?" he asks.

"No!" I say.

He licks his lips. "We could move here. I know why you like it so much."

"I want to move into that house!"

"So we can move into that house!" he laughs. We've already been on the plane for a while and I know we'll land in like five minutes.

"Okay."

"Okay." He laughs.

We land, and I'm in a bad mood when we check on the bakery, which he opened while I was planning the wedding. My phone starts beeping like crazy as we walk in the door, and before I even get a chance to check it, my ringtone fills the air. I almost don't answer, but I realize it's Annie.

Annie? She doesn't ever call me or anything because she's so shy. I frown and press answer. "Hey Annie." I say. Peeta looks at me in surprise. We're going to Paris tomorrow because Christmas is two weeks from now. We were on our little honeymoon for three weeks.

"Katniss?" she asks. "I need a giant favor…" she takes a deep breath.

"O-kay…" I bite my lip.

"Well I'm coming to Paris with Finnick and I'm leaving on the twenty third but…" she sighs. "I can't do it."

"Can't do what?" I ask, concerned. She better not fucking leave him. Finn loves her so much.

"I um…is Peeta with you?"

"Yes."

"Look, I know you just got off the plane and all from the honeymoon but I need you to come to Maine. I need your help."

"Annie-"

"Please?" she sounds like she's going to cry. "We have to talk."

"We're talking now." I reason.

"Katniss please! I'll pay for the ticket if I have to!"

I run my fingers through my hair. "I'll see what I can do." I hang up.

"What's wrong?" Peeta asks.

"Annie is having…" I bite my lip. Having what? "She wants me to fly out to Maine."

"No." he crosses his arms.

"Why not?"

"because I'll miss you."

"Peeta…" I bite my lip. "This isn't normal for her. She won't tell me whats going on but she was _crying_ to me. She's really shy, and this involves Finn. I have to go."

He stares at me for a long time. "Well what about Paris then?" he asks. It's December 12th.

"I'll fly out there with Annie."

He's silent for a long time, then, upset, he says glumly, "I'll help you pack."

…a…

I jolt awake when the plane touches the ground. I've been really tired lately and my stomach's been hurting, and I think I may be coming down with the flu or something because it's like period cramps but I'm not on it.

I stretch. My boobs have been aching a little bit too, but I think it's because they've been played with so much.

I laugh at the thought and walk off of the plane, dragging my suitcase behind me. When Annie sees me, she gives me a giant hug. I hug her back and let her lead me outside. She puts me right in the car. She looks tired and stressed out, and I notice how she looks like she's in pain for a bit and then it passes. "Are you dying?" I blurt. She looks at me in shock and then starts to laugh.

"No I am not dying."

"Why do you look like you're I pain?" I ask.

"Because…" she trails off.

"Do you have treatable cancer?"

"No."

"Are you leaving Finn?"

She pulls over into a field.

"No."

"Well then what's going on, why am i-"

"I'm pregnant with Finnick's kid and he doesn't know it. I'm a month on Christmas day."

I stare at her. "Really?" I ask, sitting up straighter.

She smiles. "es." She sighs.

She starts driving again. I'm silent for a long time.

"Something's upsetting you."

She sighs and nods. "I'm terrified Finn's going to leave me when he finds out I'm pregnant." She pulls into the driveway of a house. "We'll continue this in my room." She says before I say something. She leads me inside, and I pull my luggage with me. A big younger than her, April's age, looking like a male Annie stares at me.

"Annie when you said you were bringing a friend I didn't thinking was Katniss Everdeen."

"Her last name is Mellark, Luke, she's married." She says.

"Right," He stares at me. "Mom and Dad are out."

"Okay." She doesn't seem to care. She grabs my wrist and pulls me down the hallway and slams the door to her bedroom behind us. "He's so annoying." She sits down on a twin mattress and points to the other one. "That's yours."

"Thanks..." I sit down awkwardly on it, take off my coat and sit down next to me.

"You've known Finnick longer. You know him better. I'm scared he's gonna leave me." I actually laugh.

"Annie, that's insane. Finnick is not going to leave you. He loves you and he already loves the baby, even though he doesn't know about it."

Her face contorts in pain and she lies down.

"I just hope your right." She rests her hand on her belly.

I miss Peeta and I've hardly been away from him for two hours.

We sit in silence for a long time, and I start feeling exhausted. I lay down with my phone on my belly.

"So..." She bites her lip. "How was your honeymoon?"

I actually laugh. "It was good. We um...had a lot of sex."

She laughs. "Well that's good."

We begin to chat, and then we laugh and talk more, and we're joking around and going on and on for hours.

"Wait!" I laugh. "You were accused of being sixteen and pregnant?"

She laughs harder. "Yes!"

"Oh god, that's so good!" I snicker. "So, how'd you find out?" I ask.

"Well, I just wasn't feeling well and my boobs hurt and I missed my period, so I got a about twenty tests and peed on ten of them and when all of them came back positive." She sighs. It's getting dark. We take a break for dinner and then go right back to her room. We continue to talk, and at eleven at night, I'm exhausted.

"It's so hard, though." Annie sighs.

"Why?"

"Because, I two days after you guys left is when I left so I haven't seen Finnick since, and then I find out I'm pregnant and he's called a million times but I can't answer him."

"Why can't you answer him?"

She laughs. "I don't want him to find out about this over the phone, and if I talk to him I'm going to accidently spill, so I'm forcing myself to wait until the two weeks are up and I fly out to Paris." She explains.

I nod in understanding, and we drift into a silence for a bit.

"You should take a test." She says suddenly. I laugh and run my fingers through my hair.

"I am _not_ pregnant."

"Oh come on, just for the hell of it!"

I snort, stand up and shrug. "Okay."

It's late and everyone is asleep except for Annie's brother, Luke. She takes me into the bathroom after grabbing a box from under the bed. She hands me a test and waits on the counter as I pee on it.

"This is going to be so stupid." I snort.

I set the thing on the counter and wash my hands. We joke about random things until Annie looks at her watch. "It's time." She says.

We both look down at the test, expecting to see the little red line telling me I'm not pregnant, but we don't.

Instead, we see a little pink line crossing over another, forming a plus sign.

"Nice try. Stealing my test." She snorts.

"I…" I stutter. "I-I-I-" I cover my mouth with her hand. She looks from the test to me and then dumps the rest of the tests on the counter, all different, and forces me to piss on them.

They all come back the same.

I'm pregnant.


	39. Chapter 39

I cry. We have two weeks till we get to go home and we can't talk to the boys.

I lay on the bed, tossing and turning for hours.

At five in the morning, I get a text.

Peeta Ryan: _hey um…I know your probably asleep but you never told me you got off the plane and I haven't heard from you since you got on the plane, so I'm assuming you're having a uh…good time. I'm getting on the plane to France now and Finnick's flipping out because Annie isn't speaking to him, so could you tell her to talk to him? I'll text you when I get off the plane. I love you. _

I rest my hands on my stomach and bury my head in my pillow.

I want to call him and hear his voice and his laugh. I want to hear him tell me he loves me.

It's just a bad idea to talk to him.

Annie begged me so hard to stay. I walk halfway out the door when I changed my mind.

After a while, I fall asleep.

…a…

We eat very healthy. We Googled what the best foods to eat while pregnant and got eggs, salmon, beans, sweet potatoes, popcorn and other whole grains, walnuts, greek yogurt, dark green, leavy vegetables, lean meats, and colorful fruits and vegetables.

Annie announces to her family we are both expecting and they freaked out and they're babying us.

Her mother went complete lunatic and dragged us to babies R us.

"I still think you guys need to tell Peeta and Finnick."

"You wouldn't want to find out over the phone." I point out.

"That's true." She frowns.

She gets us a ton of clothes that could be for any gender.

Annie and I shut ourselves in our room when we get back to the house and I have two missed calls and three texts.

Both calls are from Peeta.

Peeta Ryan: _hey I landed…_

Peeta Ryan: _Katniss, honey…whats going on? _

Peeta Ryan: _Did I upset you? Did I say something? Please talk to me. _

I break down again, and Annie starts crying too, and we cry as we put away the clothes for the baby, and then we cry ourselves to sleep.

….a….

It gets worse, and by the time we are halfway through week two, the calls and messages are coming from everyone from both of our phones, and they're not very nice.

Peeta's flipping out.

Peeta Ryan: _I called Cameron so you cant pretend like the damn plane crashed and you died. _

Peeta Ryan: _answer me, Katniss. Please? I miss you. _

Prim: _answer, bitch_

Jo: _listen brainless, if this is some stupid fucking game or something, it's really pissing me off. I'll fucking find you. When I do, you better have a good fucking reason for this bullshit._

Jo: _Plus I need you. We really have to talk. _

Finn: _you and annie are pissing me off. _

Finn: _I'm so done. _

PEETA'S POV

"How do we know that Cato doesn't have them?" I blurt out in the silence of everyone on their phones bugging one of the girls.

"That's impossible. Cato's terrified of you and he knows you'll kill him." Finnick says. "I know they're going to come back. And when they do…" he sucks in a deep breath. "I won't lay a hand on them, but it's going to get very loud. Right when they walk in the door I'm gonna start shouting."

"Agreed." I say.

"They do know they can just walk right in, right?" Mom asks.

"Katniss will know." I say.

"This is ridiculous." Mr. Everdeen stands up. "Katniss isn't being herself."

"Maybe she's really sick."

Mrs. Everdeen shakes her head. "If she's in the hospital sick you would have been called. In America, you call the person the other is married to, and if they're not married, they call the parents. Since you and Katniss are married they would have called you, and they didn't."

"I think she's just not coming home and not answering. I know she sees all these damn messages." Prim says.

"I agree with Prim." Johanna stands up. Blight watches her in concern. "This isn't fucking fair! I'm gonna kick her ass when she gets back here."

"I disagree with everyone." Haymitch says suddenly. "She's a dumbass. What I think is going on, is that Katniss has something that affects all of us, and she's being too much of a coward to come forward and say it. Something tells me it's not a bad thing, either."

"Well we can't let her get away with it." Rye says.

I hope they all know I'm going to crack and do whatever she says.

I hate the fact that I know this is true, but Katniss has me wrapped so tightly around her finger and there is no way to unwrap this gift.

KATNISS'S POV

Annie and I link hands.

"Tomorrow." I whisper.

"Tomorrow." She whispers back.

We get to go home tomorrow.

I lay down, and fall asleep.

…a…

We're out the door before the suns up and on the plane immediately. It is currently six in the morning and we're just starting to move. It's a twelve hour flight.

I find myself sleeping the whole time, and then I'm being forced awake. Cameron stands in front of me. "Uh…we're here." He says. He looks over at Annie. "Peeta's freaking out over you."

"I know he is." I mumble, sitting up. "Annie!" I say loudly. She sits up and looks around.

"What?" she asks.

"We're here."

She stands up and stretches. I stand up and stretch, too. Then we take our luggage and get off the plane. I walk into the restroom marked 'Femme toilettes' which means Female Restroom in English. I remind myself that this is France and everything is in French. I use the restroom because I've really got to pee, and I brush my teeth and redo my hair and wash my hands and slash water on my face and walk out with Annie.

"Do you remember the way?" she asks.

"We'll see." I say. She follows me out the door, staying extremely close to me and looking around in wonderment. People speak in quick French and I pick up every word, but Annie looks uncomfortable.

We stop in front of the bakery and I feel like I'm going to get sick. It says 'Désolé, nous sommes fermés.' Meaning, Sorry, we're closed.

I try the door and it opens. Annie follows me inside and I think I'm seriously going to be sick. We ditch our luggage in the kitchen and I tread silently up the stairs and stop outside of the door. "We're in this together." I whisper under my breath. She takes my hand and squeezes it.

I think about knocking, but they're already pissed at me, and I'm their daughter-in-law, and they're going to ask me why I'm knocking, so I slowly turn the knob and make Annie walk in the door in front of me.

Peeta is nowhere to be seen, but everyone else is.

"PEETA!" Rye starts screaming. I look at Annie in pure fear and she looks back with the same expression. I hear a loud bang, and then a door slams.

"What the hell are you yelling for?" Peeta comes storming into the living room, locks eyes with me and then stops. "Oh."

Finn looks terrifyingly furious, and Peeta's eyes go pitch black.

_They love you both._ I tell myself. _They won't lay anything but a gentle hand on you._

I swallow the fear and wait. "Well it's good to know you guys are fucking alive!" Finn breaks first. Peeta doesn't. He just crosses his arms and stays completely silent. I can't even make myself look into his eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with you two, huh?" he takes three big steps until he's close enough that I can feel the anger boiling off of his body. Annie backs up, but I don't. I stay silent and stare back at him with a glare. He returns it and we have a stare down until he seems to get that he can't hurt me and he backs up again.

"First of all, where the hell have you been?" Peeta asks sharply. "Because I know damn well you weren't in Maine like you said you would be."

"Yes we were!" I say.

"Really, because I talked to Annie's brother and he said he hadn't seen you guys!" Finn shouts.

"Yeah, what's that all about?"

"We were in Maine!" Annie snaps, standing back by my side.

"Bullshit!" Peeta says.

Oh, I'll fight this battle. "Bull nothing! I told you I was going to Maine, and that's where we went! Luke only told you guys we were never there because we told him to!"

"Don't lie to me." Peeta says.

"I'm not lying!"

"Well I don't believe you!" he snaps.

"Well that's your own damn fault!"

He's got his jaw clenched and I know he's got his tongue suctioned to the roof of his mouth to keep himself from saying something he doesn't mean.

"We all deserve an explanation." He finally says. ""Is it something I did? Did you secretly file a divorce or something?"

I was thinking he was joking, but when I look into his eyes the pain is so visible that I know he isn't. "No, I didn't file a divorce."

"Okay, so I did something." He assumes.

"Yes but it's not something bad…"

He looks really confused and I can tell his mind is racing.

"So…?" he sighs. "tell me what I did."

I really don't want to tell him I'm pregnant in front of everyone. "I-I-"

"Don't you dare say you can't." he says.

"I'll tell you but…" I look around the room. "I'm not telling you with everyone I'll tell you alone."

"No deal." He says.

"Well fine, then I'm not telling you." I say stubbornly. He crosses his arms again, and I cross mine. Johanna stands up.

"I promised myself I was going to beat the shit out of you." She says. "But something in my gut is telling me not to." She pats my cheek, hard. "Stop being a dumbass." Then she sits back down.

"Why don't we just tell all of them?" Annie whispers. "They're going to find out anyways, and they're going to stay pissed until we tell them."

I'm silent for a while.

I hesitate for a long time. Then I shake my head. "I would rather tell Peeta in private."  
"Well fine, then. I don't want to know. Whatever it is, I don't care." Peeta says. He's just as stubborn as I am.  
He needs to care. He can't leave me alone with this baby. I can't do this alone. "Fine. Then I'm fucking leaving." I open the door and storm down the stairs. I think about taking my suitcase but I decide against it.  
I hope he fucking finds the baby clothes in there.  
I rip open the door to the bakery and walk. I don't know where to walk to, but I walk.  
I shove my hands in my jacket and walk for a long time.  
I can hear someone running and I know I'm being followed. I'm crying and I really don't like people seeing me cry.  
"Wait." Peeta puts his hand on my shoulder and spins me around to face him. He's distraught and he looks like he feels terrible. "God, don't cry." He wipes my tears. "I didn't mean it. I always say stuff I don't mean!"  
"Well you can't say that. You don't know how serious this is." A few more tears fall and he wipes them away.  
"I'm sorry." He whispers pleadingly.  
I stare at him for a long time. "Don't leave me." I whimper. He rubs my arms.  
"I won't. I love you so much. I won't leave." He says.  
"Promise?" I ask. He put a shirt on, which sucks. It's a thick tight ass white long sleeve with a leather jacket. He looks sexy as fuck.  
"I promise." He says. "But that doesn't mean I'm not upset with you."  
I kick a rock and sigh. "I told you I was going to Maine, which I did." He takes my hand and starts to pull me somewhere. I tread after him. He stops underneath the Eiffel Tower. I look up in wonderment. He sits down and I sit down in front of him.  
"Okay, continue."  
"And when I got there-god, I'm not supposed to tell you, but Amnie told me she's pregnant. She didn't talk to anyone because she was afraid she was going to spill and tell someone over the phone. She wanted to be in person when she told Finn."  
"Oh..." he frowns. "She's pregnant?"  
"Yes." I say.  
"So...why couldn't you talk to me?" He asks.  
"Because..." I bite my lip. "We were joking around the first day there and she uh..." I'm panicking and my hands start trembling. He takes them in his.  
"Whatever it is, I'm here for you." He whispers.  
"She made me take a test." I whisper.  
"A pregnancy test?" He asks.  
"Yes. It was a joke and we were messing around but..." I take a deep breath. "The results...they...they were positive."  
He stares at me in shock. "Your pregnant?" He asks.  
"Yes." I look down. "I know it's too early and everything...but...we can't really do anything about it and this is our kid, and I don't want to get rid of him or her because...it's our baby."  
He laughs. "Your pregnant?" He asks again. His entire face is lit up in pure happiness.  
"Yes." I say again.  
He grins and pulls me into his lap. "We're having a baby?"  
"Are you happy?" I ask.  
"I'm ecstatic! We are having a baby!" He pushes me gently off his lap, stands up and pulls me to my feet. Then he spins me around.  
"If I find out you are kidding I am going to be really, really upset." He says.  
"I'm not." I say.  
"Are you having symptoms?"  
"Yes, my stomach and back have been upset and I've been much more tired than usual. I'm not even a month yet. Oh, and I missed my period. I'm spotting and I'm having mood swings. I've had a tiny bit of morning sickness and I can smell everything better. It sounds weird but Annie and I looked it up and all of it is signs of pregnancy."  
He grins excitedly. He looks so excited.  
"Do you want to tell everyone now?" I ask.  
"We might as well, I mean..." He licks his lips and grins again. "We're having a baby." He can't stop smiling. I smile, too.  
"I know. What-" he kisses me.  
Oh gosh, I've missed his lips. I kiss him back wilding, and he pulls away before we get too serious. "You know we aren't staying at my parents?" He asks. "We're staying at a hotel."  
"Really?" I ask.  
"Let's go there."

...9...

We had sex. Of course we did. He's kissing my face to wake me up. The TV is on and it's on an American channel. He's holding me in his arms. He put on a pair of boxers, and he put me in a pair of panties and a t-shirt while I was sleeping.  
"Mmm." I whine. "I don't want to get up."  
"Me either." He says. "But we have to." His shirt smells so strongly like him and it's incredible. It's the white long sleeve one that's tight on him but loose on me.  
I almost start crying. "I don't want to."  
"I know." He sits up. "You have to, sweetie."  
"I'm gonna take a shower." I stand up.  
We had stopped at the bakery on the way here to get my suitcase.  
"Wait," he stops me. "I want to tell you something." He links our fingers and pulls me back down on the bed. "I love you."  
I laugh softly. "I love you too."  
I take a long, hot shower, and I spend a lot of time lathering my stomach up. It much be a lot longer than I think, because I hear the bathroom door creak.  
"Kat? Honey? Are you okay?" Peeta asks. "I knocked...but you didn't answer."  
"I'm fine." I whisper.  
"What?" He asks.  
"I'm fine." I say, louder.  
"Are you sure?" He asks.  
"I'm fine!" I snap.  
Damn mood swings. Then I sigh, shut off the water, grab a towel, cover myself and get out. "Sorry for snapping...I uh...I can't really help it."  
His eyes flick to my chest and then back to my face.  
"It's okay baby, I understand." He takes a step towards me.  
"No sex right now." I warn. "I just took a shower."  
"I know, but I still haven't hugged you yet." He opens his arms and I walk into them, wrapping my arms around his waist.  
We stand there for a few moments.  
"They're probably getting angry, and we need to let them know why you left or they're going to continue to treat you like garbage. And bring something pretty, we're going out to dinner tonight." He plants a long kiss on my lips and walks out of the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind him.  
"Babe?" I call him back. He sticks his head in the bathroom.  
"Yes?"  
"Are my boobs bigger?"  
He smiles. "Yes, only a little bit." He says. I groan.  
"They were big enough before."  
He says nothing, he just laughs and walks out of the bathroom. I get a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and some panties and a bra and put them on and get another bag and put in my long dress that is plain and white and strapless. I add red heels and put on my boots and a coat. When I walk out if the bathroom after brushing my teeth, Peeta's ready to go. He must have taken a shower when I was asleep.  
"Ready to go?" He asks.  
Sighing, I nod my head. "Get ready for pure hell."

…a…

I receive a glare from every person in the family aside from Annie, Peeta and Finn.

"Stop." Peeta says. "You guys are being rude."

"W_e're_ being rude?" Rye snaps.

"Yes, you guys are."

"How are we being rude?"

"Because your stressing her out." He crosses his arms.

"So? Brainless is always stressed."

"Well she can't be stressed because she's pregnant and stress isn't good for the baby."

Silence.

"Shit." Johanna looks at Blight and they both start laughing. Then Johanna stands up and places both hands on her shoulders. "Your legit knocked up?" she asks. I cross her arms.

"Yes."

"Damn." She laughs harder. "Me too."

My eyes widen. "Seriously?" I smile.

"Yeah, only like…I think I'm a month tomorrow or something."

"Wait." Effie stands up. "Not only is my niece pregnant, but my daughter is, too?"

"Uh…me too…" Annie slowly raises her hand.

"Your pregnant?" Prim asks. It's directed at me.

"Yes."

"This is wonderful!" Mom says.

"I'm gonna have a niece or nephew?" Rye demands, standing up to move in front of me.

"Yes."

"Wait, how do you guys know?" Mom asks. She goes into nurse mode, waiting intently for the answer.

"I uh…my stomach hurts and I'm always tired and I keep getting nauseous but I haven't thrown up yet, and my period never came and I've been having mood swings."

"I can attest to that." Peeta says.

"Oh, and I took like, ten different tests and they were all positive."

"Spotting?" mom asks, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes."

"I'm going to take a guess and say you are three weeks, probably almost four." She looks at my boobs. "How about those." She says.

"They hurt." I say.

"Are you excited?" Prim asks.

"Not to be a tub of lard." Peeta scoffs. "You won't be."

"Well I'm excited to eat cereal on my stomach." Johanna says.

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to do that." I agree.

"I'm hoping I won't get morning sickness."

"Oh, sorry to break it to you but most people do get morning sickness, and iof you've been nauseous, you probably will."

Annie and Jo and I all groan. Peeta snickers and I smack his arm. "It's not funny, Peeta Ryan. How would you like to be a swollen hippo puking your brains out?"

"You are _not_ going to be a swollen hippo."

He's got himself completely convinced. ""How about you stop being so hard-headed and just accept the fact I'm going to be a fatass?"

He stares at me for a long time and then just laughs and shakes his head. "Okay."

He thinks these mood swings are funny.

Motherfucker.


	40. Chapter 40

I am _not_ having a good time.

First of all, I'm tired and I'm really nauseous and I just want to go sleep.

Second of all, Peeta's uncle Jordan, Audrey's father, is arguing with Audrey in the middle of the fucking restaurant, and since basically _everyone_ knows who I fucking am, they're all staring at _me_ like it's _my_ fault that Jordan is making his daughter cry.

I have on that dress and heels and I'm not very comfortable and I'm very nauseous.

I sit with my fists clenched, my jaw clenched and my entire body tense.

This whole fucking fight is because Audrey, who is just barely five years old spilt her milk on the table and it got Jordan's phone.

And his phone isn't fucking broken, because he has a life proof case on it. He's shouting at her in the middle of the restaurant, and everyone except for him and Audrey has their heads bowed.

Annie and Johanna look about to snap and the words leave my lips before I can stop them. "Would you just _shut the fuck_ up?" I snap. He stops arguing with Audrey to look at me.

"Excuse me?"

I stand up, and Peeta grabs my hand and stands up too. "I said shut the fuck up. She's _five_ and she didn't mean to spill the damn milk. Your phone isn't fucking broken anyways and we're in public. Didn't you ever learn to act your best in public?"

"Katniss." Peeta warns. I glare at him and he sighs.

"I don't care." He says.

"Because you're an asshole."

"Katniss." Mom hisses.

"Whatever. I'm leaving. This is bullshit."

I don't take my purse, because my phone is in there.

I turn around and start to walk out of the restaurant. Peeta catches my hand.

PEETA'S POV

"Katniss." I say.

"Don't try and make me stay. She's five, Peeta! She's five years old! She's a little kid! She's only been alive for five fucking years, and he's treating her like shit because a five year old spilt some fucking milk."

"I know." I sigh. "Don't leave."

"Didn't I just tell you not to try and make me stay?"

"Please just stay? You have to eat."

"We can get hotel food." She crosses her arms.

"Please?" I beg. "Nobody wants you to leave."

"Well I want to leave." I'm stubborn.

"Please just stay." I say. "Please?"

"if he says a fucking word, I'm gone." She turns around and storms upstairs again and sits back down. Uncle Jordan is staring at her.

We order our food in quiet.

His staring turns to glaring, and I know Katniss knows, because her hands are in fists.

"Jordan." Mom finally says. "Cut it out." They're siblings.

"Why? She was nothing but rude to me for talk to my daughter."

I see Kat's hand twitch. I see something drip onto her hand and slide down the back and make a wet spot on her dress.

She's crying?

"Okay." I feel my anger rise. "You weren't talking, you were screaming, and you were way out of line, and she had every right to say something, whether Audrey is her kid or not."

"I don't know what you see in her." He mutters. Katniss looks up, grabs her purse and storms off without a word.

"God, you've got problems." I follow my wife. She's moving quickly, and after realizing she doesn't know where she's going, she falls to her knees in the snow and starts crying. People stop and look at her. I kneel down in front of her and pull her into a hug, running my fingers through her hair.

She sobs into her hands, hysterical, loud sobs.

"Oh." Mom says. They of course followed us, everyone but Jordan. "Oh, don't cry honey."

"H-H-He's right!' she chokes.

"No he isn't. Don't listen to him, he doesn't know anything."

She only cries harder.

"Let's take her to the bakery." Dad says. He doesn't look too happy, and I know it's not because of Katniss. I stand up, and she stays on the ground, shaking her head.

"Leave me." She says. "Leave me to die. I want to die."

"Oh, stop that bullshit." I pick her up. "Don't say that."

She doesn't say anything else.

….a….

She's really tired and she isn't confortable in that dress.

We're watching a movie at the bakery, and she keeps squirming.

"I can't wear this dress." She says.

Everyone looks at her, and she doesn't care as she unzips her dress and it falls to the floor.

"Katniss." I say. She pulls my shirt off of my and pulls it on.

"I'm not comfortable in anything." She takes her bra off while still wearing her shirt and tosses it to the floor.

"If I didn't have Alexis I would think that was hot." Rye says.

"That was hot." Kegan says.

"Katniss." I hiss when she starts massaging her boobs. I try to grab her hands to stop her but she smacks my arm.

"My boobs hurt. Stop it." Johanna and Annie already changed. "God, I'm so freaking nauseous." She sits stops after a moment, and then lays down, sprawled across the couch.

She falls asleep almost right away.

…..a…

We ended up staying the night because I fell asleep. I wake up to a weight disappearing, and then someone saying 'what's wrong?' and then when I open my eyes, Katniss is running across the house.

"And there's the morning sickness." Mrs. Everdeen smiles. I follow her and catch her hair before it gets in the way. She scrubs her teeth with my toothbrush.

"You can get a new one." She decides. I shrug.

"I suppose." I flush the toilet. She spits out the foam and washes her mouth. Then she storms back to the living room and I follow her.

"I can't wait for this to be over. I hate being pregnant."

"But we're having a baby."

"I don't regret it." She adds. "But I just can't freaking wait for it to be over."

"We haven't gone to church in a long time." Mom says.

"You guys are catholic?"

"Y-"

"Do you guys have any chips?"

"Yes." Mom frowns.

"Do you have hot sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and peanut butter?"

"Yes." Mom frowns again. "Why?"

She doesn't answer; she just walks into the kitchen.

I almost throw up. She walks in with a spoon and a bowl and a bag of cheddar chips.

In the bowl, she has hot sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and peanut butter.

"We are catholic." Mom finishes.

Nobody says another word. Everyone looks like they are going to throw up.

Katniss mixes everything together and mashes up a chip in it and keeps stirring it until it's a nasty reddish, brownish color, that looks like it's dried blood.

And then she _licks_ the spoon.

Oh my god.

"Mmm." She lips her lips.

"Kat, I love you and all, but what the heck is that?" she looks at me.

"I made something new." She looks so proud of herself. "Try it!"

She thrusts the bowl in my hands. "um…I'm good."

"Please?" she begs.

"Don't do it, Peet." Rye says.

"I will." Johanna and Annie sit down on either side of Katniss and we all watch in disgust as they finish the bag and the disgusting dip.

"We should make more but put a pickle in between two chips." Johanna suggests.

Katniss walks away again.

She comes back. "You don't have any pickels?" She asks.

"Not that I know of." Mom says.

Katniss looks at me. "Peeta I want pickles."

"Is that a message?" I ask.

"I want pickles." She repeats.

"Um…" I stand up. "Fine."

"You don't have euros?"" Dad asks.

"Oh, I do."

Finnick and Blight come with me.

KATNISS'S POV

Peeta hands the jar to me and I get three cups and we split the juice.

"That's disgusting." Prim says.

Kat, Johanna and Annie glare at her. "Shut the fuck up." Katniss snaps. Prim smirks.

"Let's go to church." Mom says.

Katniss walks away, and comes back having taken a shower. She put on her dress again.

"Why are you wearing that?" Prim asks. She scowls.

"We're going to God's home. Be respectful." Prim rolls her eyes.

…..a…..

We sit through Church and I take Prim's phone from her because we are supposed to be _praying_ and she's sitting there on her phone.

Peeta takes me back to the hotel for the day. We lay and watch a movie, and I end up falling asleep.

When he's waking me, it's lunch time, and then after, it's dinner, and then I sleep for the rest of the night, and it's one in the afternoon when he wakes me up, and he looks worried. "Are you okay?"

"I'm tired." I roll over.

"It's Christmas Eve." He warns.

"I want to sleep." I whimper.

"We're sleeping over my parents." He informs me. "Mom got a blow up mattress. It's big, so you, Johanna and Annie are sharing."

"Peeta I don't want to go anywhere, I want to sleep."

"Let's go." He says.

I cry, and he sighs. "Katniss."

"I want to sleep!"

"You can sleep at my Parent's."

….m….

"How are you feeling?" Mom asks.

"I want to sleep." I lay down on the blowup mattress after making Johanna and Annie scoot over more, and I fall asleep immediately.

PEETA'S POV

"I don't know how she is still sleeping. She's slept since we got home till one, aside from waking up for lunch and dinner."

I miss her, so I lay down and pay random songs on YouTube.

I'm listening to Trace Adkins' song, _Just Fishin'_ and in the music video; Trace has his youngest daughter with him.

_She ain't even thinkin' bout what's really goin' on right now, but I guarantee this memory's a big one, she thinks we're just fishin'_

I want a girl. I look at my sleeping wife and I want a kid that is just like her. I will love a son just as much as a daughter, but I want a daughter.

I lose my train of thought when I see everyone watching Alexis and Rye. I yank out the ear buds.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Rye asks. Katniss, Johanna and Annie wake up.

"I'm tired of your games."

_Games?_

Rye doesn't play any games with her. He loves her like I love Katniss, and he never treats her bad and he doesn't play games. Everyone is thinking the same thing.

"Games?" Rye raises his eyebrows.

"Yes!"

"What games?"

"You know what games. You treat me terribly!"

I cringe when I piece together that my brother's heart is about to be broken. Katniss sits up, and so does Annie and Johanna.

"I treat you terribly?" Rye repeats. "How? Let me fix it."

KATNISS'S POV

I'm about to cry. Rye is just like Peeta except he's more open with his feelings about hot girls. "no, I don't want you to fix it."

"Well what do you want me to do then? I'll od anything."

"No." Alexis shakes her head. I look at Annie and Jo and they look back at me with the same pained expression. "I'm done Rye, I've had it." She takes the engagement ring off and places it in Rye's hand.

Rye stares at her. "Don't do this."

"Bye." She walks away.

I stand up. "Bitch!" I chase after her. Rye doesn't try to stop me. He's my brother now, and I'll kill a bitch for him. "What the fuck Alexis?" I left the front door open so everyone can hear me.

"Don't bug me, Katniss."

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You don't understand." She says loudly. I kind of am shouting at her.

"Really, because Rye is just like Peeta when it comes to girls, and he is nothing but respectful and he treats you like a fucking queen! You just broke his fucking heart!"

"Oh shut up, you don't know what your talking about."

"I don't know what I'm talking about? Are you kidding? I've known Rye longer than you have, and I know he wouldn't be rude ot girls. You have problems for leaving him."

"Whatever." She crosses her arms and heads for the door.

"Fine, leave, but I don't wish you well."

"Whatever." She door slams behind her. I'm about to go after her and slap her, but Johanna grabs my wrist to stop me and pulls me upstairs before I go to jail for killing her.

"What a fucking ass!" I shout. I'm furious. "She's such a fucking whore! I bet she cheated! I bet she did! What a fucking bitch! I fucking hate her!"

"Okay, okay Katniss!" Peeta says. "Your not helping the situation."

"I'll kick her ass." I stomp toward the door, but Rye blocks it. I can see pain in his eyes.

"Don't bother."

"What a bitch." I shake my head. "Don't you want me to turn her? I will Rye, I swear."

"I know you will." He takes my hand and pulls me to Peeta and then shuts the front door and shuts his eyes for a second. "What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything?" I refuse to sit down or do anything, because I really want to chase him.

He tosses the ring in the fireplace. "Whatever. I'm not taking her back when she comes."

"If I see her I'll kick her in the tit. I hope she gets internal bleeding and d-"

"Katniss." Peeta says loudly.

"What?" I look at him in outrage. "She's a bitch Peeta, she's-"

"Okay, well you're not making him feel better. You can rant to me all you want later on."

….a….

I'm so ready to go back to Oklahoma.

It's freaking Christmas and I wake up to a horn honking.

I throw up, brush my teeth and then go back to bed. I lay down with Peeta. He wakes up and frowns, and then wraps his arms around me. "Merry Christmas." He whispers.

"You too." I roll over to face him and plant a kiss on his lips. We fall back to sleep.

…..a…..

Audrey is tapping my cheek. Peeta is still asleep, but everyone else is awake. He's got me in a death grip, pulled tightly against his chest, he slipped my hands under my shirt in the night and they're placed where my bra should be. His face in is my hair and he's dead asleep. Our legs are locked together. Mom actually took a picture of us. "Peeta won't wake up." Mrs. Mellark informs me.

"Hey." I tap his cheek. "if you wake up we can have sex." He stirs and sits up.

"What?" he's half awake.

"Wake up."

He groans and lays back down, burying his head in my chest. "No." he wraps his arms around me again. "Your like a pillow." I laugh.

"Get up." I repeat.

"No." he says again.

"I'lll nail you in the balls." I warn.

"No you won't."

"Three." I begin to count down, sterness entering my tone. "Two." He tenses. "One." I just barely move my knee before he grabs and it sits up, scrubbing his eyes, looking annoyed.

"I'm tired."

"Get over it." I say. He looks at the time on his phone and sighs. "It's only five in the morning."

"Wait until the baby is born and you have to get up every hour." Mr. Mellark says.

"I couldn't help. I was so tired I could hardly do anything." Mrs. Mellark says.

"Sleeping for me." I smile.

"Well someone has to feed the baby."

"You can lay him on me and let him eat without waking me up." I say.

"You mean her?" he asks.

"No." he raises his eyebrows.

"Really, because I'm pretty sure I decided we are having a girl." He says. "The male decides the gender."

"And the female carries the baby, and the female says that she is carry a boy!"

"Well I was the one that decided and I decided on a girl!"

"No, it's a boy!" my voice is raising.

"No it's not, it's a girl, it's-" we're shouting now.

"Okay, it's a baby. We don't know the sex. Stop fighting about it." Haymitch says. "It's too early for being awake."

I cross my arms. "Okay, but it's a boy."

"No it's not." Peeta says.

"Yes-"

"It's going to be nothing in two seconds if you both don't shut up." Johanna snaps.

We fall silent.

**Okay, so my plan is to do one chapter for each month, so there are about nine chapters left until the baby is born. I may end up not doing that, but as of right now, that is what I plan to do.**


	41. Chapter 41

"I think that is everything." Peeta looks around. I'm not showing at all and we're in Oklahoma because we moved here, and surprisingly, so did Blight and Jo, Finn and Annie and Rye and Graham. I'm one month and two weeks pregnant.

We haven't been getting along too well lately, and I know that's my fault. We haven't had sex in over a month. I went to my first ultrasound and we heard the baby's heartbeat and we were super excited.

But since the day I came back from Maine and he found out about the baby, we've hardly even kissed.

I feel terrible. He when refuses to let me help unpack, I sit down on the stairs and watch him. He has on a pair of jeans that hang low again and I can see the V even better than I could the last time.

I want to ask him to fuck me blind but I can't bring myself to do it. "Peeta?" I whisper.

Even though I've been a bitch to him, he still treats me wonderfully, although I know I'm annoying him. "Yes, hon?" he looks at me. I look down for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a bitch. I know you hate me and I don't blame you."

"Oh come on." He sits down next to me on the stairs. "I don't hate you, honey. Not even close. I love you, and I know you can't help it. Sure, I miss you sometimes, but…we're okay, okay?"

I nod my head and turn on the stairs to look at him. "I just…" I bite my lip. "I feel terrible."

"Don't." he slowly leans forward and plants a careful peck on my lips, but I grab the back of his head and pull his lips back to mine, scrambling into his lap to make out with him. I rock against him and I hear him make a quiet noise of pleasure.

"Let's go upstairs!" I gasp when I pull away. He starts nodding like crazy and picks me up.

…..a…

"Kat, we have a problem." He's in the kitchen. I walk in, and I see the cabnets are bare. "The market is closed for the night and there is nothing to eat." He says.

"I'll go hunting." I suggest.

He looks worried and looks at Lexi and Lucky over my shoulder. "Will you take them with you, please? And ease my heart and stay on our property." he asks.

"The dogs?"

"Yes."

I stare at him. "Okay."

…..a…..

I hear a low growl behind me, and both Lucky and Lexi's ears perk up. I make a grab for them because I recognize that growl. It's a coyotes' growl.

But it's too late. Lexi and Lucky are in their jaws before they, or I have time to react. I climb a tree and kill it, and then scream and then cry.

PEETA'S POV

Rye, Graham, Johanna, Blight, Finn and Annie came over and I'm freaking out about letting Katniss go. I hear her scream and all of us are out of the door in a matter of seconds and on a horse.

She screams again and I make the horse take off in the direction she's in. Everyone is following me. I can hear her crying, and I see blood on the ground all over the place, splattered.

Lucky and Lexi are dead, and so is a coyote. I look up and see Katniss, way high up in a tree, her knees against her chest, sobbing her eyes out. "Katniss." I say. "Come here honey."

I'm really upset, but I know she's much more upset because she saw it in person.

Again.

I get off the horse as Katniss climbs down the tree.

I hear multiple growls and five more coyotes llungs out of the bush and before any of us have a chance to react, Katniss has killed all three of them and then she sits down on the bloody floor of the forest and cries. I put her on the horse and pull them away from the scene.

When we get to the barn, Katniss takes off everything but her bra and underwear because she's covered in blood, and she walks into the forest in her bra and panties and comes back with a ton of wood and she starts a fire, and then she walks away again, and comes back, dragging the coyotes by a rope. She begs me to help her.

"You're going to get pneumonia." I warn.

"Who gives a fuck." She hisses.

"Please." I put my shirt on her and she doesn't bother to protest. I toss all of the coyotes in the fire one by one.

It does make me feel better to watch them burn to nothing.

"We can't bury them there." She whispers, picking at some dead grass. Everyone sits around the fire, and we're all quiet. "The stupid coyotes will dig them up."

"What do we do then?"

"We go out to the meadow and spread their ashes." She says.

So that's what we do. We make the dogs into ashes.

When Johanna asks what's for dinner, Katniss tenses. They were coming for dinner anyways. We're walking and she's got her bow. She walks ahead of us and climbs a tree, and I see her draw the string back and shoot and then she hops down. "We're having deer."

We spread the ashes and then collect the deer. It's really dark out. In carry the dead deer in the house and rest it on the counter. "I know how to cook this." She announces proudly. "The one thing I can do aside from make coffee." She smiles. She's got blood all over the floor and she isn't fazed. She dumps the good parts in a bucket and gets a garbage bag and puts everything else in it. "Can you burn that? Not the plastic, please." She's quiet and she's upset. I walk outback.

KATNISS'S POV

I clean up all of the blood and bleach the kitchen. I wash off the deer meat and put the breast we're having and I put it in a strainer and I wash it. I start the stove and cut up the meat into eight pieces because it was a fat deer and cook them one at a time.

When I'm done, having gotten lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and mushroom and spinach from the garden, everyone looks afraid to eat. "Stop being cunts and just eat your damn food." I say.

They're all surprised.

I eat quickly and when I try to clean up dinner, Peeta walks into the kitchen. "Go rest." He orders. I am eahusted and I do want to lie down.

"No." I say.

"You've done enough, honey. Go rest for me. Please?"

Everyone leaves and I oblige and lie down on the couch.

I'm asleep almost immediately.


	42. Chapter 42

**I am not updating once a month. I am updating one chapter for each month of Katniss, Johanna and Annie's pregnancy. **

My morning sickness stopped. I'm showing and I'm not happy about it, but Peeta loves to kiss my belly and talk to my baby and he loves rubbing my stomach. He's super excited and he went shopping for groceries and came back three hours later with a ton of baby stuff and he was so excited and his eyes were lit up and he sat me down and ranted on for an hour about how he's so excited. Then he spent another hour showing the clothes to me and I paid attention to him.

Jo is a week father along then I am and Annie is two weeks. We walk the town. I see a box that says 'free kittens' which isn't a rip off because in this town you really do get free stuff.

Peeta I want a kitten." I say, tugging his hand like a child. He turns to me.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?" He pauses.

"I want a kitten." I gesture to the box. "Please? They're free? See?" I point to the sign.

He sighs. "Last time we got pets it didn't end well."

"But that was last time." I say. "Please?" It's at Greasy Sae's stand.

"They're up to date on their shots and they're declawed on the front and back." she says.

I look at Peeta again. "Please? They're so fluffy!"

One has white and orange all over it and it's adorable. One has tan and gray and one has black and white.

"Kat, I don't know."

"Please?"

"You always make decisions too quickly. You don't think things through."

He's right, of course. "But I want a kitten." I say. He sighs.

"I don't know." He rubs the back of his neck. He's nervous. I pick up the orange and white one and it nuzzles my neck. It's so fuzzy. I giggle. Peeta watches me. "Fine." He walks over to me and picks up the black and white one. "I want this one."

"Well I want this one."

"Mine is a boy." He says.

"Mine is a girl. Let's get both." I blurt.

"Oh, I don't know."

"Please?" I ask.

He sighs. "If you insist,"

We get Kitty food and litter boxes and brushes and soap and everything.

They're adorable and I love all of them.

He takes me home and we are pleased to find they are both trained to use the litter box. I name mine Daisy and Peeta names his Itty because he is Itty Bitty.

He lies down with me and rubs my belly. "Are you happy?" He whispers.

"Mm hmm," I mumble. He massages my back and a moan softly as the pain begins to lessen.

"I'm glad you are happy."

"Are you happy?" I whisper as Daisy hops up on the bed and lies down against me.

"Are you kidding? We're having a baby, Katniss. I couldn't be not happy."

"Good." I smile. I pet Daisy and she starts to purr and I grin happily.

My mother has been my nurse, and she comes down once a month for my doctor's appointment, and Annie and Jo's.

Other than that, nobody sees our progress, but when everyone comes down during the first of July, that is when they will see the progress, and I am due on the 28th of July, Johanna is due the 21st and Annie is due the 7th.

Peeta stops rubbing my back and begins rubbing my belly. "I can't wait." His eyes shine as he looks at me and smiles. I smile back.

"Me either. I don't really care what the sex is anymore. I will love our baby either way."

Now that I am in my second trimester, I did my research.

Our little baby will be sprouting hair and the ears and eyes will be moving to the correct positions, and is starting to suck and swallow. By the time I hit week eighteen, he will be weighing as much as a chicken breast and will be able to yawn and hiccup. He also has fingerprints. By week 21 I should be able to feel him moving. By week 22 the baby is able to smell, see, taste and hear. By six months the little eyes open and he'll gain weight. By the end of the sixth month, he will weigh 2 pounds.

I'll be peeing less, thank god. I'll be congested, too, and dizzy, and I will have sensitive gums, leg cramps and increased appetite.

I won't want to have sex. I warned Peeta and he wasn't too happy, but he didn't complain, he just gave me a kiss and said "that's okay baby, I'll wait forever." And then we had sex.

But I also read that sex won't hurt the baby or scar it emotionally, it will probably enjoy the movement, which is disgusting to think of our baby enjoying us having sex.

Peeta waves his hand in front of my face, and I look at him. "Yes?" I ask softly, running my fingers through his hair.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispers.

"The baby and what we will be going through and how I won't want to be intimate with you anymore." I'm really upset about that.

"Oh baby," he plants a soft kiss on my lip. "It's okay. I'm not upset. Sure, I want to have sex with you, but...I mean...it's not going to kill either one of us."

"I just...I feel terrible."

"Don't." He murmurs. "It's okay. I love you either way."

"Good. And…I'll at least try to give you a hand job."

He snorts. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Well, I do worry about you because I love you."

He smiles. "I love you, too." He starts talking to my belly again, and I watch him, smiling.

I think it's adorable how he always talk to my belly and he rubs it and everything. It's just the cutest thing.

I love him, and the baby, so much.


	43. Chapter 43

I am three months and three weeks pregnant, so I am fifteen weeks.

It confused me, keeping track. It has been three months, and since there are four weeks in a month, three times four is twelve, and then add three and you get fifteen. I'm exactly fifteen weeks and four days.

I hate when people ask how far along I am. I'm just so freaking fat that they can't tell.

I don't want anything to do with Peeta, and I turn my head when he tries to kiss me, and I snap 'I'm not in the mood.'

I hear Finnick and Blight and Peeta whispering about that the other day, and Johanna, Annie and I were complaining about how they're way too clingy.

The three of them have gotten used to the nasty dip of hot sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and peanut butter. We're eating it with pickles now, and the three boys are whispering and looking over at us. I glare at them, and so do Annie and Jo. They all start laughing and then they walk out of the house. "God, they're so freaking annoying." I grumble. "Why the _hell_ do they insist upon looking at us? They have the whole world to look at!"

"I know. It's really fucking annoying." Johanna says.

"I agree. I can't stand it. They need to let me be my fatass self." Annie grumbles. We finish the pickles and split the dip and then clean up the mess. I brush my teeth, and I jump when I see Peeta leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his jeans hanging low, showing the V again. Every time he's shirtless I see the V, and it's beautiful.

"What?" I ask.

"Are you okay?" he asks carefully.

"I'm fine." I say.

He's hurt, and I know he is. I feel bad. I spit the foam and wash my mouth out.

He's watching me. "Is your back hurting?" he asks. I think he's honestly just looking for an excuse to touch me.

"I'm fine, Peeta." I say. "Can I get out of the bathroom now?" I ask. He looks hurt as he steps aside. I go downstairs, and he goes outside.

PEETA'S POV

I'm trying not to upset her, because the smallest thing sets her off, but she won't even let me hold her hand anymore.

I miss being able to touch her.

My phone starts ringing and I see it's my mother.

"Hey Mom." I sigh.

"Hi. How are you?"

"I'm okay." I walk into the barn so she can't watch me from the back door."

"Just okay?"

"Pretty much." I say.

"How's Katniss?" she asks.

"She's…she says she's fine."

"But she's not fine?" she asks.

"I don't know what's going on. She…" I sigh. "She isn't herself anymore."

"How is she not herself?"

"Well, she snaps at everyone and glares at any moving object. She insists she's a fatass and she can't stand it when people from the town ask how far along she is. She won't let me touch her. I can't even hold her hand."

"Peeta." Mom sighs. "I know it's hard honey…but you have to think of the changes going on in her body right now honey. She probably is decongested which isn't fun, and she's probably dizzy and her ankles are swollen and her back hurts. You have to think of how she's feeling before you get yourself worked up. Your Katniss is in there honey…she's just…she's hidden. She will come back after she has the baby, maybe even before she has the baby. I know I came back after my second trimester. Be patient with her, don't argue with her. She might make you sleep on the couch hon."

And that's exactly what happens. She makes me sleep on the couch.

KATNISS'S POV

He's driving me crazy. He keeps babying me and it's pissing me off. I told him he's sleeping on the couch, but now I wish I didn't, because the bed is cold and uncomfortable without him. I haven't even felt his skin since the middle of month two, and we're just a week shy of month four.

I sigh and stare at the fan, watching it spin around. It's March, so it's chilly outside, but still cool enough to go outside during the day without a jacket.

I throw the covers off of me and go downstairs.

He isn't even sleeping, he's watching TV.

_It's my fault he can't sleep, _I think to myself. _I'm the bitchy wife I swore I would never be that makes her loving husband sleep on the couch. _

I look down at my hands. He's watching me closely. "I'm sorry." I mumble. He says nothing. "I'm sorry for being the bitch wife I never wanted to be. I'm sorry that I won't let you touch me and I'm sorry that I snap at you when you're nice to me. I'm sorry. I don't deserve you."

I'm crying. He mutes the TV and stands up, moving so he's directly in front of me. I see hesitation in his eyes as he slowly reaches up to brush away my tears. "I understand."

"No-"

"Let me finish." He says softly. "I get it. Your whole body is changing and you're not too happy about it, and I need to be more patient and understanding."

"It's not your fault I'm a bitch."

He laughs. "You're not a bitch, and I'm the one that got you pregnant."

"I know, but…" I look down. "Do you regret it?"

"Getting you pregnant?" he asks. I nod and look back into his eyes. "I mean…I know it's changing your body and all…but I don't regret it." He smiles. "I love our baby."

"I'm sorry that I am so impossible."

"You are not impossible."

"Yes I am!" I snap. Then I start crying harder. "See? I'm a fucking bitch, Peeta! Go ahead! Leave! I don't like upsetting you and I _can't control it_!" I'm screaming.

"I'm not leaving. I told you I understand and I meant it. You are not a fucking bitch and I love you and I'm not leaving. It's _fine_ Katniss."

"No it is not fine!" I choke. "Dammit, I fuck everything up! I'm a fuck up!"

"You do not." He says.

I cross my arms. We have a stare down for a long time, and then I kiss him. He's shocked, but he kisses me back.

PEETA'S POV

I don't care if we have sex or not. I could make out with her all day long and never get tired of her lips. No matter how much I need release, I won't care.

She pulls away, gasping. "Let's go upstairs."


	44. Chapter 44

We haven't had sex since then, and I still snap at him, but now I cry every time I do, and he calms me down.

I'm four months now, four months and two weeks, so I am eighteen weeks. I find out the sex today, and I'm alone in the house when I wake up. I take a shower, wondering where Peeta is as I pull on a bra and a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

As I brush and braid my hair, I hear the front door shut four different times. I've only seen my mother and I remember she was coming in on her flight for the appointment today. I trudge downstairs and am surprised to see that not only is it my mother, but Prim and Dad too. My boobs went from their normal C to a DD. "Do you want Starbucks? I got you Starbucks." Peeta says. I yawn and take the cup from his hand, kissing his cheek and mumbling a 'thank you'.

Prim cries. "I've missed so much!" she says. She's out of high school but she has work now, and college.

"Nothing interesting." I mutter. "I'm a bitch to everyone."

Peeta sighs. "Told you." He says.

"Well you look great." Dad says. I actually laugh.

"Thanks for being nice to me, but I know that isn't true."

"Where's Lucky and Lexi?" Prim demands.

"They're dead." I say bluntly, picking up Daisy as she brushes against my leg.

"Dead?" Dad repeats.

"Mom didn't tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Prim asks.

"Coyotes." I say. I don't add anything else.

"Oh." Prim frowns.

"You were hunting pregnant?" Mom asks sharply.

"No." I lie. Mom looks at Peeta in outrage.

"We didn't have any food and I know I shouldn't have let her but I did and I'm an idiot for it."

"Have you felt the baby move yet?" Prim asks.

"No."

Mom raises her eyebrows. "Is that bad?" Peeta asks.

"Well…you were supposed to feel the baby move around sixteen weeks, and you're eighteen."

I panic. "So something's wrong with the baby?"

"Everyone is different, Katniss. I remember when I was pregnant with you I was nineteen weeks and I still hadn't felt you move. I got my ultrasound and you were moving all around. There probably is nothing wrong with the baby."

"Are you sure?" I bite my lip.

"I'm sure." She says.

"So I could not feel the baby move at all?" I'm not very happy about this. She shrugs.

"I doubt it."

Johanna, Annie, Johanna, Blight, Rye and Graham come in. Rye and Graham insisted on coming because they want to know the sex of their niece or nephew.

We walk to the doctor's office and Mom leads us into the room. There hasn't been a single pregnant woman in this town since Ian and his wife had Marcus, so everyone is super excited since there isn't one, but three.

Annie goes first because she is further along than the rest of us. Peeta slings his arm around my shoulder as we wait and I rest my head against his shoulder.

Annie's having a boy, and everyone is super excited.

Then it's Johanna's turn and it takes a lot of looking around to see that she too, is having a boy.

And then I lay down on the bed. "That's damn bed is fucking uncomfortable." Johanna grumbles. Everyone waits, holding their breath. I hiss when she puts the gel on my stomach and spreads it with the wand. A soft heartbeat fills the room. I love hearing the baby's heartbeat.

Mom smiles.

"What?" I demand. The baby is moving all around and I can't feel it, just like Mom said.

She looks like she's going to cry. "What?" Peeta and I ask together.

"You're having a girl."


	45. Chapter 45

PEETA'S POV

Katniss is five months, one week and one day. She felt her move when we got home from the doctor's office, and since then, she's been kicking her nonstop.

"I hate that name." she wrinkles her nose. "The name Lauren reminds me too much of my cousin and that bitch from the party."

"Okay, what do you suggest?" I ask.

"How about…Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth?" I test it out. "That's adorable."

"So…"

"Let's name her Elizabeth."

"What about her middle name. You have to pick it."

"Julia." I blurt. "I've always wanted to name a girl with the middle name Julia."

"Elizabeth Julia Mellark." She tests it. "Beautiful." She plants a soft kiss on my lips, and I deepen it, and then we're going upstairs.

KATNISS'S POV

Someone rings the doorbell, and I know the house is empty because Peeta would normally say he's got the door. I get up and pull on a bra and a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. They ring the doorbell again and I rush downstairs. I'm shocked. I open the door and I am engulfed in hugs and kisses and people freaking out about how I 'look so different'.

I'm a fucking fatass, that's how I look different. It's my family and Peeta's family that's here.

Peeta walks in the back door and his eyes widen. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We had to come before the baby!" Effie says. "Oh, where's my daughter?"

"She's at home. She lives across the street." I run my hands over my face.

Effie rushes past me and comes back with Finn, Annie, Johanna, Blight, Rye and Graham.

Johanna and Annie look as annoyed as I do.

"Did you guys pick names?" Mrs. Mellark asks.

"Mason." Johanna says. "We know that's my last name but it's not going to stay like that."

"Benjamin. Ben for short." Annie says. Everyone looks at me.

"Elizabeth." I yawn. She nails me in the ribs when I say her name and then starts moving around.

"Whoa!" Prim lifts my shirt up. "That's awesome!"

"Have you guys gone shopping yet?" Effie asks.

Here we go.

"No." I say. Prim lets go of my shirt.

"What!" she starts to rant about how the baby's will be here in four months and we're not prepared, and the next thing I know, we're arguing. Johanna, Annie and I against everyone else.

"I don't want to go to the store!" I insist. "I'm tired and my back hurts and I don't want to go anywhere!" I snap.

"Yeah! Fuck you all!" Johanna says.

"This is ridiculous! I'm going home!" Johanna storms out of the house and Annie follows.

I'm going to break the rules. "I'm going to sit outside." I go out of the back door and slam it behind me, and hurry to the barn. I wait a few minutes to make sure nobody is coming after me, and then I mount a horse and take off to the forest.

PEETA'S POV

"Okay, am I the only one getting the feeling that she didn't go sit outside?" Rye asks.

"No." I sigh, stressed.

"Is she always like this?" Effie asks.

"No." I say. "She's working on it." I stand up, stretch and walk out the back door.

She's gone, and so is one of the horses. Everyone stares at the empty stall and then we spring into action.

KATNISS'S POV

I sit in the meadow, picking flowers and laying them out, singing hate songs.

_Look inside_

_Look inside your tiny mind_

_Now look a bit harder_

_'Cause we're so uninspired, so sick and tired of all the hatred you harbor_

I lay down and the flowers cover me.

_So you say_

_It's not okay to be gay_

_Well I think you're just evil_

_You're just some racist who can't tie my laces_

_Your point of view is medieval_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause we hate what you do_

_And we hate your whole crew_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause your words don't translate_

_And it's getting quite late_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Do you get_

_Do you get a little kick out of being slow-minded?_

_You want to be like your father_

_It's approval you're after_

_Well that's not how you find it_

_Do you_

_Do you really enjoy living a life that's so hateful?_

_'Cause there's a hole where your soul should be_

_You're losing control of it and it's really distasteful_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause we hate what you do_

_And we hate your whole crew_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause your words don't translate and it's getting quite late_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,_

_Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,_

_Fuck you_

_You say, you think we need to go to war_

_Well you're already in one,_

_'Cause its people like you_

_That need to get slew_

_No one wants your opinion_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause we hate what you do_

_And we hate your whole crew_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Fuck you_

_Fuck you very, very much_

_'Cause your words don't translate and it's getting quite late_

_So please don't stay in touch_

_Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you_

_Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you_

This song makes me feel much better, and I didn't realize everyone was watching me until Peeta sits down next to me. "What are you doing?"

I sigh loudly. "I came out here to be alone."

"Katniss you are five months pregnant. You shouldn't be alone."

"Well I want to be alone and Elizabeth wants to be alone, too. You guys are upsetting the baby."

"How do you know what the baby wants?" Peeta asks. I look at him and narrow my eyes.

"She told me."

He laughs, and I throw purple flower petals at him, and he laughs harder. "She can't talk to you."

"Yes she can." I stand up. "I know what she wants." He stands up too.

"Well you need to come home."

"I don't want to!" Then I mouth my horse and take off. I'm much faster than him, and I run for the hills. He follows me. I start screaming that song again.

Everyone is chasing me now, and they're not very happy with me. I don't want to go back to the house! Haymitch catches me and pulls me onto his horse and stops, grabbing my horses reins.

"What the hell is wrong with you, huh?" he asks.

"I don't want to go to the house! I'm tired of being in the house all the time! I want to explore!"

Needless to say, they're not very happy with me.

….a….

Later that night, I can't sleep, and I'm tired of seeing the ceiling, so I get up, and I sneak downstairs, and I go back to the meadow.

PEETA'S POV

She's gone again.

I sigh sharply. The sun is up. I get up and go downstairs. "She's gone." I say.

"Are you kidding?" Mrs. Everdeen is pissed.

"I'm going after her. You guys just stay here." I grab my bag, which has some things I've been meaning to show her and walk out the back door.

KATNISS'S POV

Peeta sits down next to me. I don't look at him, I just continue playing with flowering and staring at the blue sky, making creatures out of the clouds. "I was pretty angry when I saw you left." He starts. "But…I'm being unfair. You are an outside girl, and I know you would rather be outside, I've decided to let up. Next time you want to come out here, can you please wake me up? I will come with you. I will feel much better if you are out here with someone else."

"But if I tell you, will I still be allowed to come out here?"

"After eight months, no, you can go outside, but not all the way out here. As of right now, yes, I suppose."

"Okay." I say.

He takes my hand. "I want to show you something. It's a promise I made a while ago."

I sit up and he opens a backpack, and I gasp.

It's the paintings he made when he first saw me. I'm sitting in Starbucks, taking to Finn. We're both laughing. He got every single detail, even that freckle on my wrist. "Oh my god, Peeta,"

"I have more." He says carefully. He pulls out a ton more, and I notice he leaves one in there. He brought seven with him, counting the one still in the back.

There is one of me when I was telling him I'm pregnant, and one of me and him and…a little girl and a little boy in this very meadow. The boy has blond hair and gray eyes, and the little girl has brown hair and blue eyes. The girl and the boy are playing tag. We're watching them, with my head on my shoulder. The little boy is only just a toddler, and he's waddling, and the little girl is four or five in a sundress, her hair in two braids, and her arms reaching for her brother.

There's another one of the two of us trying to teach a little girl to ride a horse.

There's one of us taking her to her first day of school.

And there's one of us sitting in Starbucks.

"What's that one?" I point at the one in the bag.

"It's really uh…" his face goes red and he starts scratching the back of his neck.

"Can I see it?" I ask. He shrugs. I reach into the bag, and then I laugh. We're naked, I'm on his lap. It doesn't show anything that isn't made for someone else's eyes. We're staring into each other's eyes.

"I was really guilty when I finished it and I was going to throw it away but I didn't."

"Well I like it." I laugh and he smiles.

There's a blank canvas and some paint and stuff in there, and before I know it, I'm watching him paint.

He's adorable. The way his nose scrunches up in concentration or how his hand pauses suddenly and then he bites his lip and keeps painting.


	46. Chapter 46

We went baby shopping and now we've been stuck in a car accident. It's nighttime and it's raining and we've been sitting here for over two hours and nobody is moving. People actually got out of the car and they're watching. "This is ridiculous." I complain.

"I know." Peeta sighs. We have Jo and Blight behind us, and Annie and Finn behind them. I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the car. Peeta gets out, too. Then Blight and Jo and Finn and Annie.

Oh, I see why. When I get to the front of the crowd, I see there has been a terrible car accident. I already knew it.

There's this beautiful little girl who is only seven years old. She's dead. The father is unconscious and the mother is sobbing in the arms of a medic.

I cover my mouth with my hand. Peeta slings his arm around my shoulder and rubs my shoulder. Everyone is watching and a lot of people are crying.

The little girl takes a deep breath a coughs and then starts screaming for her mother.

"Mommy!" she screams. I bury my head in Peeta's chest and he rubs my back.

"I'm right here baby!" her mother rushes forward. "I'm right here."

We're all orders to go back to our cars as a bay flight helicopter comes.

When we go into the car, I hear a song on the radio called _Hello World_.

And then I make Peeta take me to the church in our town.

….a….

I've gotten back into music, and I spend most of my days in the meadow with a guitar. Peeta paints, I write.

It works out for everyone.

**I know these have been really short. Sorry. **


	47. Chapter 47

"You know…" Mom bites her lip. Everyone came early and they're not leaving until the baby is born. "I think I got your due dates wrong."

"What do you mean?" I demand sharply.

"I think you guys are all eight months right now."

"What?" I ask. She nods. "You're dropping quickly and Annie, I think you've been having contractions."

"No." Annie shakes her head. "Impossible.

"Honey," Mom takes Annie's hand. "I think you're going to have your baby soon."

"No, it's too early, it's too-"

"You're supposed to hit eight months tomorrow, and if Mom's right, you're going to hit nine tomorrow." Finn reasons.

"And I think your further along than Johanna." Mom says.

Annie's parents and brother are here, too.

I shake my head. "Lies."

"I think your going to have the baby in a week or so."

"What about me?" Johanna asks.

"I think Katniss is a day further than you. When is the last time you and Peeta had sex before you got pregnant?"

I look at Peeta. "Um…" my cheeks turn red. "I don't have the answer to that question."

"Well I'm bored as fuck." Prim says. "Hey, did you guys see Cato's video?"

"Cato?" I repeat. "No. Do I want to?"

"It's shocking." She warns. "I was sort of told not to tell you."

"What's he doing?" I ask.

"Well it starts with him begging you to leave Peeta and come back to him and he says he's trying to find where you live because he just loves you so much, and then it goes from that to him making a sex tape. He said he found out you were married and pregnant and he's not happy. He wants to be friends if you guys can't be together and he wants to be the godfather of Elizabeth."

I actually laugh. "He's such a dumbass. If he gets anywhere near my child I'll kill him."

"Who's the godfather?" Jen, who came here with Josh because they're engaged, asks.

"Oh, that's Finn."

"Really?" he's surprised. Peeta and I discussed this.

"Who's the godmother?" Jen asks.

"You." Peeta says, massaging my ankles.

"I cannot _wait_ to be tiny again. I can't see my feet."

"Well your boobs are nice." Peeta compliments. I smack his hand as everyone starts laughing.

"They sit on my stomach instead of staying up. That's disgusting."


	48. Chapter 48

**Guest, I'm making Katniss the way she is because I looked all of this up and this is what I found. Peeta said he didn't care about the sex thing, so drop that because you don't know what you're talking about. I've been going through shit at home with my Dad and I don't want to hear you complaining about the story because this is the only time I'm happy, so stop insulting it. Peeta wanted Katniss to quit her job because he never saw her, and he had a better job for her anyways.**

**As I said, I'm going through shit with my Dad and I don't need to hear you bashing the story.**

**Nobody is forcing you to read it, so if you have a problem, please do me a favor and, instead of insulting the story, just stop reading it. If you don't like it, I don't even want you to read it. **

Mom was wrong about the due dates. I'm eight months and I'm still due the 28th. Annie is still due the 7th and Johanna is still due the 21st.

Mom think's we're going to be premature and she keeps saying I'm going to have the baby before Johanna does.

She also calmly explained that the due date is simply an estimate.

I'm lying on the couch, glaring at my stomach. She's beating the shit out of me and it hurts. I groan in annoyance. She rolls over. She has the hiccups, too, and she's elbowing and kicking and bugging the frick out of me. Peeta is watching, and so is everyone else. Ben and Mason don't do this!

That's why it's so entertaining to everyone.

"Do you think she knows who's touching her?"

"I think she can tell when it's you or Peeta."

Peeta rests his hand on my stomach and she stops moving.

He removes his hand and I rest mine there and she starts moving around like crazy, which makes me start laughing. She moves wilder, and when I stop laughing, she kicks, hard.

And then she keeps moving around and elbowing and hitting and kicking me.

"Gosh, she really wants out." Peeta laughs and I smile.

"Yeah."


	49. Chapter 49

I can't sleep anymore. Annie won't come out of the house and neither will Johanna and I stay in bed, crying, trying to sleep. Peeta can't hold me because I'm just too big. He sits with me and gets me to stop crying.

Finn comes running in the house screaming something I can't understand. I had finally stopped crying and finally fallen asleep. Then Peeta's rushing upstairs and picking me up, telling me Annie's water broke and she's in labor. We all rush to the hospital and Mom disappears with Annie and Finn.

I can't stay seated. I pace. With Elizabeth beating the hell out of me and freaking out.

God it must be so painful, childbirth. I have to shove a baby out of my crotch.

It hurt putting a dick in there, and now I'm shoving a _baby _out.

I sing. It's the only thing I can think of to calm myself.

I must not be the only person flipping out, because Johanna is pacing too, and a lot of people are singing with me because it's calming.

_White lips, pale face_

_Breathing in snowflakes_

_Burnt lungs, sour taste_

_Light's gone, day's end_

_Struggling to pay rent_

_Long nights, strange men_

_And they say_

_She's in the Class A Team_

_Stuck in her daydream_

_Been this way since eighteen_

_But lately her face seems_

_Slowly sinking, wasting_

_Crumbling like pastries_

_And they scream_

_The worst things in life come free to us_

_Cause we're just under the upper hand_

_And go mad for a couple grams_

_And she don't want to go outside tonight_

_And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland_

_Or sells love to another man_

_It's too cold outside_

_For angels to fly_

_Angels to fly_

_Ripped gloves, raincoat_

_Tried to swim and stay afloat_

_Dry house, wet clothes_

_Loose change, bank notes_

_Weary-eyed, dry throat_

_Call girl, no phone_

_And they say_

_She's in the Class A Team_

_Stuck in her daydream_

_Been this way since eighteen_

_But lately her face seems_

_Slowly sinking, wasting_

_Crumbling like pastries_

_And they scream_

_The worst things in life come free to us_

_Cause we're just under the upper hand_

_And go mad for a couple grams_

_And she don't want to go outside tonight_

_And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland_

_Or sells love to another man_

_It's too cold outside_

_For angels to fly_

_An angel will die_

_Covered in white_

_Closed eye_

_And hoping for a better life_

_This time, we'll fade out tonight_

_Straight down the line_

_And they say_

_She's in the Class A Team_

_Stuck in her daydream_

_Been this way since eighteen_

_But lately her face seems_

_Slowly sinking, wasting_

_Crumbling like pastries_

_They scream_

_The worst things in life come free to us_

_And we're all under the upper hand_

_Go mad for a couple grams_

_And we don't want to go outside tonight_

_And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland_

_Or sell love to another man_

_It's too cold outside_

_For angels to fly_

_Angels to fly_

_To fly, fly_

_For angels to fly, to fly, to fly_

_Or angels to die_

I sing every song that comes to mine.

I sing for hours.

I sing people to sleep.

I sing and sing and sing and sing.

Peeta keeps asking if I want to sit down, and when I finally stop ignoring him and tell him not, he quits asking.

Johanna falls asleep, and Peeta stays awake.

Once I'm sure I'm going to pass out, I lay down with Peeta and fall asleep.

….a….

Mom is waking me. "What?" I whisper. It's three in the morning.

"She had the baby and she wants you." She says. I stand up, and as I do, I feel a huge pain and then I think I pee myself.

Mom and I look down at the floor. "What just happened?" I ask.

"Your water broke." She looks panicked.

Prim's sleeping, but she's in school to be a nurse.

Now Annie just had a baby that needs looking after, and now I'm in labor.

Mom looks worried and panicked. I shake Peeta awake and he sits up, alert. He's so out of it that he loudly says "what?" and everyone wakes up. He stares at the puddle I'm standing in.

"Prim." Mom says. "I need you to go look after Annie and Ben."

"Me?" Prim's nervous.

"Yes! Your sister is in labor! I can't be two places at once!"

Peeta has to pick me up as a contraction hits, because I start to fall.

Mom wastes no time, dragging Prim by the arm and stopping at a room and pushing her in, giving her instructions. Then Mom hurries and leads us to another room and they help my change, completely naked, into a hospital gown. "Don't you have something else? This is ugly and-"

"Katniss you're in labor! It doesn't matter what you wear!" Mom laughs. "That is the first time I've ever had anyone actually care about that." She hurriedly changes the sheets and Peeta lies me down and I just lay there. "Have you been having contractions?" she asks.

"I've been sleeping."

"Did you feel a really bad pain before your water broke?"

"Yes."

She shocks me by fingering me. "Sorry. I have to do that." She washes her hands. "You're really dilated and I'm surprised your water just now broke." She frowns. "Seven centimeters, you need to be ten."

"We don't have the bag!" I say. Mom disappears. Then she comes back with the bag, which was at the house. She was hardly gone five minutes.

She begins to set thing up, carefully, making sure she doesn't miss anything. Peeta lets me squeeze his hand when the contractions hit. Mom checks how dilated I am again, washes her hands and says "Eight." And then continues to make sure she has everything. She rests her hands on my knees. "Now, when I tell you to push, you push, right?" I nod my head silently.

"Is it going to hurt?" I whisper.

She's silent for a while, as if decided to be honest or not. "Yes. It's going to hurt a lot, and you can scream all you want, but I promise that the contractions are the worst part. Pushing is a relief. Please just push when I tell you to and stop when I tell you to."

"It's too early." I say, shaking my head weakly. "She isn't ready to come out yet, Mom. I don't want her to come out yet. She isn't ready, she-"

"She's ready. I told you, due dates are simply an estimation."

"Mom." I whine.

"She's ready." She repeats. "She's going to be okay. You are going to be okay. Nothing is going to go wrong, okay?"

"Okay." I whisper. She checks how dilated I am.

"Nine."

"But what if she _isn't_ ready?" I ask.

"Katniss, I've been doing this for twenty five years. I've birthed more babies than I can count. She is ready."

"How many ended in disaster?" I whisper.

"Very few, but that was simply because the mother was drinking and smoking while pregnant. You didn't do that honey, did you?"

"No." I whisper. I squeeze Peeta's hand as another contraction comes. I feel like I need to start pushing all the sudden. Mom checks again,

"Ten." She says. The contractions are nonstop. "Okay honey. Start pushing."

I push, and it's so painful, but she's right, it is a relief. I don't let myself scream.

_Pain is weakness. _

_Your not weak. _

_Don't scream. Pain is pure weakness. This is your baby, don't let the first sound she hear be you screaming. _

I squeeze Peeta's hand and they're both coaxing me forward with words of encouragement. It hurts, oh gosh, it hurts.

_Pain is for weakness! Pain is for the weak! _

_Pain is for pussies! _

_I'm not weak! _

_Push! _

"Stop!" Mom says. I listen, gasping for air.

A soft, beautiful wail fills the room, and then the pain lessens to almost nothing. Mom looks like she's going to cry. She grabs the scissors and Peeta cuts the umbilical cord, and then she wraps up Elizabeth in a soft pink blanket and hands her to me.

I inspect her face.

She's like…

Like…

Sort of like a mini me.

She just doesn't have my eyes, she has Peeta's.

Her nose is like a button. I cradle her against my chest. Peeta sits down next to me to inspect her with me.

She's perfect.

**Alright, I'm skipping a bit of time because I really need to let out emotion. This is going to upset most of you, so…sorry.**


	50. Chapter 50

This isn't happening.

Mom is holding Elizabeth. I hang up the phone. It's only been a week. Peeta and I have been getting along so much better and we're back to normal. Johanna hasn't had the baby. Peeta's at the store.

I sink down to the couch and bury my head in my hands.

"Katniss." Finn places his hand on my back.

"What am I going to do?" I whisper.

I hear the front door slam.

PEETA'S POV

I walk in the house, frustrated after not finding what I need, and it disappears right away when I see Katniss is on the couch with her head in her hands and Finnick is trying to calm her down. Elizabeth is with Mrs. Everdeen, asleep.

"What happened?" I ask. Katniss looks up at me and she's stressed.

"We're broke." She says.

"What?" I ask.

"We're broke. We've got no money."

"How? That's impossible."

"No, it's not. Somehow, we blew through all of that money."

"How? That's…" I stare at her.

"Well…"

She starts to list as she stands up and begins to pace. "We fly all the time, and that's really expensive, I just never worried about it. Then the wedding, and then this house every months which is _really_expensive, and then there's all that money for the baby." She turns to me. "We blew through the money."

I look up at the ceiling and run my fingers through my hair before looking back at her. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Like what? Peeta, we're broke! We don't have a job! This house is way to expensive! What the _hell_ are we going to do?"

"Okay," I take a deep breath. "We have the bakery, so that's enough for gas and stuff to take care of Elizabeth. If it comes down to it, you can hunt."

"Okay, but where do we live? We have a newborn! We can't live in a shack!"

"Well…" I sigh. "We'll have to live by reality."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not realistic to never have to worry about money and to never have to work. We'll have to move somewhere and we'll have to get a job. We'll figure it out."

She sighs. "I fucking hate the fact that money takes over everything."

"Me too." Annie sighs.

"Well we can't stay here very long. We have to figure something out and get a place to live."

"Right." I say.

"I'm going to pack."

Then she turns around and disappears up the stairs.

KATNISS'S POV

I know that the old me would be crying right now, but I can't do that anymore. We have a baby, and babies need love and care and strong parents, not a mother who cries every time she gets a glimpse of reality.

I'm stressed out, and so is Peeta, but we do a great job hiding it until it's just the two of us, and we spend our time talking and planning out everything with a calculator. "We could go back to New York." He says.

"I don't like New York." I frown. "And it's not safe for Elizabeth."

Peeta's parents offered to give us money, but we declined.

Jennifer offered to give us some money, but we declined.

We need to do this.

I actually manage to make a joke out of it. "It feels like I'm back in that apartment in New York again."

We're getting an apartment in a small town in Kentucky.

"Wait." Haymitch says suddenly. "Before you interrupt me, just listen." He says.

We both turn to him. "The world still loves you." He says.

"No." I don't wait to listen.

"Katniss, listen!" he says impatiently. "Ellen wants both of you one her show. That's eight million, because she would give each of you four. All you need to do it release one album. Just one. One album and you've got the money back. You can move to a cheaper house and watch the things you buy. I know you didn't like being famous, but it's either that or you move somewhere in a small apartment and you stay broke."

Peeta's staring at me. "He's right, Katniss." He says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"We can get a hotel…" he chews on his lip. "It won't take much. Just one interview and then one album."

"And if you make music videos to the old songs, you've got even more money right there." Prim reasons.

"You guys can stay at my place." Jen pitches in.

"And we can pay for Cameron to fly you guys out there."

"But Elizabeth is too young to travel. She's a week old." I argue.

"So stay at our place until she's a month." Rye says.

I look to Peeta, and my daughter, and then I kick a stone and send it across the street. "Alright." I sigh. "I'll do it."


	51. Chapter 51

**I have another story idea and I need you guys to understand that this story is already pretty long as it is and it ended this time the last time I wrote it.**

_**Yes**_** I will be making a squeal but **_**no**_** it will **_**not**_** be right away.**

**Now, the next story is going to soft of be a rewrite of Malibu Love but it's not going to be Finniss.**

I wake to Elizabeth crying.

We're in the spare room at Rye and Graham's house, we're sharing a twin size bed and Elizabeth is in our room with us. Peeta's holding her, but she's still crying. I reach for her, and he rests her in my arms. Without caring, I expose myself and let her eat.

I'm stressed, Peeta's stressed.

Is all about stress.

We're still waiting for Johanna to pop.

Although our house is for sale, I still sneak back there to hunt and to go to the meadow.

"I'm really going to miss the meadow." I whisper.

He sighs. "Me too…but, we have each other, and that is all that matters."

….a….

It's nine in the morning when Rye comes rushing into the room. "Get up! Johanna's in labor!"

I start stuffing random objects into the diaper bag, not paying attention to what I'm grabbing until I realize I've been grabbing things that have nothing to do with my daughter in the bag.

My cheeks heat up, and when I look at my husband, he is biting his lip to keep from laughing. "I'm…" I bite my lip. "I'm half asleep." I'm making excuses and he damn well knows it, but he laughs and dumps the diaper bag or random objects on the bed and packs it with the correct objects. I strip down and change into a t-shirt and jeans and shoes. Then I pick up my sleeping daughter and cover her with her baby blanket. She whines softly when she is no longer lying down, but other than that, she is still. She shifts her head on my shoulder and that is it. Peeta slings the diaper bag over his shoulder. "Don't make fun of me." I narrow my eyes.

He laughs. "I'm tempted." He kisses my cheek. "But you asked me not to."

With a huff, I walk out of the house. Everyone is waiting for us in the driveway. Prim is itching to take my daughter, but I calmly remind her not to wake a sleeping baby, and she rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Fine." She stomps off.

"What did you do?" Peeta asks.

"I told her she can't take Elizabeth because she's sleeping."

"Actually, she's wide awake, staring at the cherry blossom trees and drooling all over the place." He says.

I look at him and I see humor in his eyes, causing me to roll mine.

"Right." I snort. He plants another kiss on my cheek.

"Kidding."

I look at him and roll my eyes.

We continue to screw around with one another on the way to the hospital, and it resumes as we wait.

It keeps going when Elizabeth wakes up and cries for food. It keeps going.

That's how it is.

We just joke.

Because we are happy.

And happy is good.

Because that makes everyone happy.

And it only gets better when Mason is born.

**Yeah it's. A terrible ending but I'm actually going to make a sequel so it's not the last time. I will continue the story, I promise. **

**Please don't hate me for this, once I get an idea of what I'm going to do next, I'm going to write the sequel, but right now, I'm starting a new story.**


End file.
